Research Guides: Dance Research Guide: Archival Collections

Dance Collections at UM

American College Dance Festival Association Archives
Begun as a a single regional conference held in Pittsburgh in 1973, the organization has expanded to include ten regional conferences and a bi-annual national conference traditionally held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. The collection contains videos, programs and photographs from both regional and national festivals featuring college level dance ensembles performing various styles of dance choreographed by professionals and students.
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Finding Aid is not available online at this time. Contact the curator for more information.

Special Collections in Peforming Arts, part of the Michelle Smith Prerforming Arts Library, manages collections on Maryland/DC-region dance companies and dancers. See the list below for some of the collections available to researchers:

Improvisations Unlimited
a modern dance company based at the University of Maryland, College Park, from 1978-1992. Founded and directed by university dance professor Meriam Rosen, the company began with informal performances of improvised movement, but gradually introduced more structured choreography, though still within a largely improvisational framework.
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Archives
the administrative, programmatic, performance, press, and visual records of the company, its members, and its related groups. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, based in the D.C./Montgomery County, Maryland area, was founded by Liz Lerman in 1976. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange pursues a broad definition of dance as a multi-disciplinary art form that encompasses movement, music, imagery, and the spoken word.
Maryland Dance Theatre
founded on the University of Maryland campus in 1971 by Dorothy Madden and Larry Warren, performed contemporary dance in the DC and Baltimore metro areas until it disbanded in 1988. Its repertory embraced a wide variety of movement, styles, and theatrical concepts. The company also provided dance education through lecture demonstrations and master classes.
Meriam Rosen Papers
A choreographer, dancer, and professor, Meriam Levine Rosen (born 1927) taught modern dance at the University of Maryland from 1954 until her retirement in 2009. An active participant in the Washington, D.C.-area performing arts community, Rosen founded and directed Improvisations Unlimited, choreographed works performed by dancers both in the United States and abroad; and helped establish the University of Maryland's Department of Dance.

Dance Collections - Other Institutions

Dance Research at the Library of Congress:

Most archival material related to dance is available from the Music Division in the Performing Arts Reading Room. However, many valuable dance resources are also available throughout the Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs Division, Manuscript Division, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, American Folklife Center, and in the general collections. Because of the many locations in the Library of Congress for dance research materials, this guide is organized by resource type.

Besides NYPL, many other institutions hold dance collections.

Listed here a just a few.

Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs
Flickr collection from the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute (TRI) of The Ohio State University.
Dance Manuals, 1490-1920 - Library of Congress, American Memory
"...presents a collection of over two hundred social dance manuals at the Library of Congress."
Jacob's Pillow - Dance Interactive
http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ - new online video archives showcasing performances from America's longest-running international dance festival
Library of Congress: Guide to Performing Arts Resources
Performing arts collections, resources, and exhibitions at the Library of Congress
Paul Taylor Dance Company Archives
"The Paul Taylor Dance Archive contains documentation in a variety of formats which, combined, provide a record of dancer/choreographer, Paul Taylor, his work, and his Company, an internationally-celebrated ensemble."

NYPL Jerome Robbins Dance Division

As a student of dance, you MUST learn about the dance collections at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts!

This helpful video was created by a Library Science student as part of a class project -- it gives a great overview of the Dance Division and the resources available!

For more info, visit the Jerome Robbins Dance Division website:

http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/jerome-robbins-dance-division