Research Guides: Dance Education: Reference Sources

Reference Collection

Start your research by using the Histories, Encyclopedias and Dictionaries available in the reference collection. Books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and directories are often used to answer quick questions or provide background information about a topic before pursuing more detailed research. If you are just getting started these tools will acquaint you with the terms and ideas in your topic. Many of these are available online.

Sculpture of a Dancing Girl, Bubaneshwar, 1 February 2008, Source: Own work, Author Sujit kumar

Online Reference

Online reference is a quick way to find relevant facts.

Oxford Dictionary of Dance
Offers wide coverage of dancers, choreographers, teachers, composers, technical terms, major works, important films, and organizations involved in the dance world.
The Oxford encyclopedia of theatre & performance
This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. In addition to performances in playhouses, it covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions. Entries range from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres and movements, such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. Written in accessible language, this encyclopedia brings together an international cast of over 300 specialist contributors.
International Encyclopedia of Dance
With nearly 2,000 articles written by scholars from fifty countries, this Encyclopedia covers the full spectrum of dance - theatrical, ritual, dance-drama, folk, traditional, ethnic, and social dance. Cultural and national overviews are accompanied by entries on dance forms, music and costumes, performances, and biographies of dancers and choreographers.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

These dictionaries and encyclopedias are located on the 1st fl. of Bobst or in some instances, the texts are now located in off-site storage.

Bremser, Martha. International Dictionary of Ballet.
Entries in this dictionary cover individual artists, ballets and ballet companies. Each entry includes biographical, professional, and historical information, as well as publications about the person, company, or ballet.
GV1585 .I57 1993 and online via HathiTrust
Cohen-Stratyner, Barbara Naomi. Biographical Dictionary of Dance.
Biographical information on over 2900 dance professionals. Aims to be comprehensive, covering ballet, modern, jazz, pop, burlesque, vaudeville, musical theater and film. Contains a selective bibliography. Good for the exotic.
Main Collection Offsite GV1785.A1 C58 1982 and online via HathiTrust
Grant, Gail. Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet.
Defines hundreds of ballet terms, from "Abstract Ballet" to "Wrapped Position." Arrangement is alphabetical, with pronunciation guides for non-English terms, a selective bibliography, and illustrations by the author.
Main Collection (GV1787 .G68 1982
Preston-Dunlop, Valerie, comp. Dance Words.
A dictionary of dance terms used by dance people in their work. Includes a bibliography and an index.
GV1585 .P74 1995
American Ballet Theatre's Ballet Dictionary
A free, browsable online dictionary of ballet terms, complete with audio pronunciations, maintained by the American Ballet Theatre.

Research Guides and Handbooks

Adshead, Janet and June Layson, eds. Dance History: A Methodology for Study.
Discusses the how's and why's of dance research, especially the evaluation of sources, and what constitutes a primary or secondary source. Includes bibliographic essays on dance texts, newspapers and periodicals.
GV1603 .D25 1983 and online via HathiTrust
Rose, Brian G. Television and the Performing Arts: A Handbook and Reference Guide to American Cultural Programming.
The second chapter, "Dance on Television," provides both a historical overview and, a stimulus for further research. Includes an excellent bibliography and a selected videography.
Main Collection Offsite PN1992.66 .R67 1986 and online via HathiTrust
White, David R., et. al., eds. Poor Dancer's Almanac.
Artists talk about surviving and succeeding in the performing arts. They discuss everything from marketing yourself to health insurance in this useful handbook.
Main Collection Offsite (GV1597 .P66 1993 ) and online via HathiTrust
Dancemagazine college guide
GV1623 .D26 Non-circulating Covers dance programs in North American colleges and universities. "Spotlight" section features major dance programs; second section, minor and non-degree programs; and last section, non-credit and certificate programs.
EBSCOhost International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text and GV1623 .D26 Non-circulating

Bibliographies

Bopp, Mary S. Research in Dance: A Guide to Resources.
This volume provides information about reference resources, special collections, and professional organizations, as well as a list of journals published about dance.
Main Collection Offsite Z7514.D2 B6 1994 and online via HathiTrust
Fleshman, Bob, ed. Theatrical Movement: A Bibliographical Anthology.
Consists of overviews/essays and bibliographies on movement, dance, theater and performance in Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. Topics include: Systems of Dance/Movement Notation; Body Systems; (Non) Anthropologists, the Dance, and Human Movement; Movement Performance of Other Cultures; Dances in the MiddleEast; Movement in African Performances; Native American Dance and Drama.
Main Collection Offsite (PN2071.G4 T46 1986 ) and online via HathiTrust
Forbes, Fred R., Jr. Dance: An Annotated Bibliography, 1965-1982.
English. Multidisciplinary approach. Areas covered include: aesthetics, anthropology, education, history, literature, physiology, psychology and sociology. Author and subject indexes.
Main Collection Offsite (Z7514.D2 F58 1986 ) and online via HathiTrust
The New York Public Library. Bibliographic Guide to Dance.
An annual update to the basic catalog. These holdings are also available online through the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dance Collection Home Page.
Main Collection Offsite (Z7514.D2 N462a )
Summary Holdings:
1-24 (1975-1998)
Ortolani, Benito, ed. International Bibliography of Theatre.
This source indexes books, book chapters, dissertations, journal articles, and other documents. Dance and Dance Drama the two specific subjects covering dance literature.
Mediated Reference (Z5781 .I8 Non-circulating ) and online via HathiTrust
Kibbee, Josephine Z. Cultural Anthropology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources. Englewood,
A bibliography of bibliographies and other reference sources. Dance is buried within other topics, so some searching is necessary.
Main Collection Offsite (Z5111 .J33 2007 )

Dance Literature Indexes

Belknap, S. Yancey, comp. Guide to Dance Periodicals.
Of the ten volumes published, Bobst has volume one (1931-1935) and volumes five through seven (1951-1956). Among the American and English journals indexed are: Dance Magazine, The Dancing Times, Dance Perspectives, Dance and Dancers, Dance Observer,and several now-defunct magazines. Check the periodicals list in each volume; coverage varies from volume to volume. Continued by Guide to the Performing Arts (see below).
Main Collection Offsite (Z7514.D2 G8 )
Summary Holdings:
1, 5-10 (1931/1935, 1951/1952-1961/1962)
Belknap, S. Yancey, comp. Guide to the Performing Arts.
Ten volumes cover 1959 to 1968. The final volume was compiled by Louis Rachow and Katherine Hartley. Indexes a select group of music, theater, television and dance journals; coverage of journals varies from year to year.
Music Reference (ML118. G8 Non-circulating )
Summary Holdings:
3-12 (1959-1968)
Dunn, Elsie Ivancich, senior ed. Dance Abstracts and Index 1989: English Language Publications in the United States.
This volume indexes dance-related materials found in titles that do not necessarily focus on dance. These items include: books, journals, conference proceedings, newsletters, etc. Includes an index.
Main Collection Offsite GV1594 .D35
News Bank. Performing Arts Index.
Newsbank indexes articles about dance and other performing arts from regional newspapers. The articles themselves are available on microfiche in the Microforms Center on the LL2.
NYU Bobst Offsite. NYU Bobst Offsite. Index to MF 400. Summary Holdings: 1975-1997.

Ballets, Guides, Synopses, and Plots

Reynolds, Nancy and Susan Reimer-Torn. Dance Classics: Major Works from the Ballet and Modern Dance Repertory .
Brief discussions about key dance works. Includes photographs, glossary, and an index.
GV1790.A1 R43 1991 Non-circulating
Studwell, William E. and David A. Hamilton. Ballet Plot Index: A Guide to Locating Plots and Descriptions of Ballets and Associated Materials.
A list of ballets with reference to a source or sources for plot information. Includes a composer's index.
GV1790.A1 S77 1987 Non-circulating and online via HathiTrust

Ballet Annuals

Ballet Annual. London: Adam and Charles Black
No longer published. Bobst Library has: v.1-4 (1947-50), 6-7 (1952-53), 9-12 (1955-58), 14-18 (1960-64). Edited by Arnold Haskell and Mary Clarke. Features include: "A Ballet Check List" a record of ballet activity for that year's London season; Obituaries; and, "Outstanding Events of the Year." The remainder of each volume is devoted to essays on the dance, all by highly regarded dance critics and many providing overviews on national dance (eg., Ballet in Hungary, Ballet in South Africa).
Main Collection (GV1787 .B25 )
Summary Holdings:
1-4, 6-12, 14-17 (1947-1963)
Stern's Directory: A Publication of Dance Magazine (formerly Stern's Performing Arts Directory, Dance Magazine Annual and Performing Arts Directory). New York: Dance Magazine, current issue only.
This annual source book for the performing arts provides lists of dance, mime, and children's theatre companies, dance schools, services, and orgnizations.
Main Collection Offsite (PN1560 .P3 )
Summary Holdings: 2001-2003 and online via HathiTrust
World Ballet and Dance: An International Yearbook..
An annual that covers the international dance and ballet world, and includes features on the dancer's environment. An appendix includes statistical information about major dance companies. Indexed.
Main Collection (GV1580 .W65 ) Summary Holdings: and online via HathiTrust
1989/90-1994