This guide answers several frequently asked questions about dance that can be answered by using the libraries at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. It also lists several useful dance reference resources and explains efficient procedures for finding library materials on dance. If we haven't answered your question, please ask a reference librarian for further information.
Probably the best place to start is The International Encyclopedia of Dance. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 6 vols. It contains articles on choreographers, dancers, dance terms, different countries from around the world, stories of ballets, dance notation, and much more. Bibliographies are included.
Subject Portal » Dance » Research Guides »
Need Help?
- Michelle Oswell, Humanities Librarian for Music and Literature (HC)
- Donna Fournier, Music & Dance Librarian (SC)
Sections:
- About a particular choreographer/dancer?
- Definitions of dance terms?
- About the dance of a particular period or country?
- The story of a famous ballet or dance performance?
- About the teaching of dance?
- About dance notation?
- Does the library have any dance videos?
- Addresses of dance schools, dance companies, dance festivals, dance spaces...?
- If the Library doesn't own what I need?
Related Subjects:
Databases A-Z:
Other:
Dance Research Guide
About a particular choreographer/dancer?
Biographical sources
Biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias provide brief biographical information and list important dates and works. Some of them provide lists of additional sources too. For example:Books
If the library owns a book that deals entirely with one choreographer, it will be found in Tripod by searching by Subject under the name of the choreographer, e.g. Cunningham, Merce. If the choreographer or dancer has written a book or published letters or journals, these will also be found in Tripod by searching by Author using the choreographer's or dancer's last name. Chapters in books may be a good source of information about dancers/ choreographers/ companies when entire books are not available. Try Subject searches on Dance - History or Modern dance - History. Here are some good historical accounts:Journals, Periodicals, Magazines
Journal indexes can help you find information published in dance journals on both historical and contemporary choreographers/ dancers/ companies.
Dictionary catalog of the Dance Collection
Publisher: [New York] : New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations [Distributed by] G.K. Hall, Boston, 1974.
Dance Collection catalog
Part of the New York Public Library, this catalog lists works about all forms of dance, from all cultures, in print and other media. Offers citation information for an international range of dance periodicals.
ARTbibliographies modern
Holdings:
Database Coverage: 1974-
Publisher: Bethesda, Md. : Cambridge Scientific Abstracts,
Provider: CSA
Provides abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all areas of modern and contemporary art including photography, sculpture and art history and theory. Covers late 1960's-present.
Art index
Provider: Wilson
Offers abstracts of journals, museum bulletins and yearbooks in the fields of art, architecture, decorative arts and photography. Covers abstracts from 1929-present, full-text articles 1997-present.
Arts & humanities citation index
Provider: ISI
Multidisciplinary database covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities with selected, relevant items from major science and social science journals. Covers 1975- present.
Arts & humanities citation index
Provider: FirstSearch
Citations to more than 1,300 arts and humanities journals and to relevant articles on arts and humanities in over 5,800 social science and science journals. Records include articles, bibliographies, editorials and reviews. Covers 1980-present.
About the dance of a particular period or country?
Encyclopedias
A dance encyclopedia is a good starting place. Articles in dictionaries and encyclopedias can supply background on the subject as well as related terms and lists of additional sources that could prove useful in your research. After getting background information from an encyclopedia, use Tripod to find books, and the indexes to find journal articles. In Tripod try using Subject Heading, e.g. India - Dance. To find journal articles on a particular period, group or medium, use the indexes listed under Journals above.Bibliographies
Another means of identifying books on a particular aspect of dance is to use a specialized bibliography. After using a bibliography to identify a book, you will still need to check Tripod to find out whether the library owns it and to get the call number.
The story of a famous ballet or dance performance?
Ballet guide
Publisher: New York : Dodd, Mead, c1976.
A brief history of the ballet is followed by an alphabetically arranged listing of more than 500 major ballets giving the plot, staging, choreographer, composer, date and place of the first performance, and the dancers that originally appeared in the work.
About the teaching of dance?
Books about dance teaching are listed in Tripod. Browse the Subject Headings for Dance - Study and teaching, Modern dance - Study and teaching, Dance for children, and Movement education. For references to articles in magazines, use specialized indexes and bibliographies:
Dictionary catalog of the Dance Collection
Publisher: [New York] : New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations [Distributed by] G.K. Hall, Boston, 1974.
Dance Collection catalog
Part of the New York Public Library, this catalog lists works about all forms of dance, from all cultures, in print and other media. Offers citation information for an international range of dance periodicals.
About dance notation?
Books are listed in Tripod, under Subject Heading Dance notation and Movement notation. For other references to books, or articles in magazines, look up Notation and Choreography - Reconstruction in the general dance bibliographies listed in #5 above. Labanotation, one of the best known systems of notation, is explained in a specialized book:
Does the library have any dance videos?
All dance videos owned by the Library are shelved in the stacks interfiled with the dance books and are listed in Tripod. The library has a wide selection of videos on all sorts of dance topics.
If you want to find out what dance videos are available more broadly, try:
If you want to find out what dance videos are available more broadly, try:
Dance on camera
Publisher: Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press ; 1998.
The main section of the filmography, arranged alphabetically by title, lists and annotates approximately 1400 films and videos, covering the full range of dance from around the world. Each entry includes information on date of production, running time, format, distributor, and whether black and white or color. For each entry, a brief description indicates the content, names of the excerpts or full-length dances included, and often titles of other related films. Supplementary indexes permit the user to search by dancer, dance company, director, choreographer, or composer. In addition, films are indexed by series title, by award(s) won, by subject, and by dances excerpted in the film. A directory of distributors provides a quick and easy look-up for order information. A list of dance/film resources, both domestic and international, rounds out the volume. This exhaustive reference guide will prove useful to dance educators, librarians, curators, programmers, students, producers and directors, dancers and aspiring dancers - in short, anyone seeking information about dance on film and video.
If the Library doesn't own what I need?
If you need something that is not available in Tripod, it can probably be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. See Donna Fournier (SC) or Michelle Oswell (HC) for more information.