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This list represents a select group of members of Dance/USA’s Archiving and Preservation Affinity Group who work with archival dance collections. These group members have volunteered to include their contact information, and would be happy to answer questions, provide resources, and discuss their specific holdings. If you would like further information about a certain dance archive collection, feel free to reach out to the email address included as that organization’s contact.
Dance/USA’s Archiving and Preservation Affinity Group is a national network for dance archivists as well as artists, educators, students, or other members of the dance community with an interest in archiving and preservation. The group is open to all Dance/USA Members. For more information, email Hallie Chametzky, Archiving and Preservation Specialist, at hchametzky@nulldanceusa.org.
American Dance Festival
Durham, NC
Contact: Dean Jeffrey, Director of Archives and Preservation, jeffrey@nullamericandancefestival.org
The American Dance Festival Archives serves as the repository for records of enduring historical value created and collected by ADF. The Archives preserves its collections for use by the dance community, including students, scholars, and the general public and encourages research and scholarship on the historical, cultural, and international significance of modern dance. In addition to Festival materials, the Archives collects videos, photos, audiotapes, and personal papers created by other individuals and institutions that document the development and history of modern dance and its relationship to American culture and society. https://americandancefestival.org/archives/
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Winnipeg, Canada
Contact: Gayle DeGagne, Archivist, archives@nullrwb.org
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet Archives acquires records that document the history of and the people involved with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, including photographs, biographies, show files, programmes and posters. It also includes records of the school, Alumni Association, Women’s Committee and the Board of Directors. The records date back to the Company’s founding in 1939. Some of our personal fonds are described here: https://main.lib.umanitoba.ca/
The Dance Archive
University of Denver (Denver, Colorado)
Contact: Nathalie Proulx, Dance Archivist, nathalie.proulx@nulldu.edu or Kate Crowe, Curator, katherine.crowe@nulldu.edu
A dance resource for all. We specialize in square and folk dance of the American West, as well as dance and dancers from the Rocky Mountain region. https://thedancearchive.org/about/
Dance Notation Bureau
New York, NY
Contact: Mei-Chen Lu, Director of Library Services, library@nulldancenotation.org
The Dance Notation Bureau’s mission is to advance the art of dance through the use of Labanotation. The DNB has produced and houses scores by artists such as George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, William Forsythe and around 300 others. Many Labanotation scores are available for educational, research and performance purposes. The DNB’s Notated Theatrical Dances Catalog can be found at http://www.dancenotation.org/
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Hong Kong
Contact: Dr. Eugenia S. Kim, Lecturer (Performing Arts Research), eugeniakim@nullhkapa.edu
Higher education institution specialising in Chinese Opera, Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Collections are currently available through HKAPA Digital: https://www.hkapa.edu/library/collections-resources
Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
Contact: Norton Owen, Director of Preservation, and Patsy Gay, Associate Archivist, preservation@nulljacobspillow.org
Jacob’s Pillow, lauded by The New York Times as “the dance center of the nation,” is a National Historic Landmark, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, and home to America’s longest-running international dance festival, located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. The Jacob’s Pillow Archives document the history of Jacob’s Pillow and the artists who have contributed to its legacy, with particular emphasis on Ted Shawn, Ted Shawn’s Men Dancers, the Denishawn Company, and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Visit our online catalog to see digital programs, photographs, and exhibitions as well as learn about our many collections of costumes, letters, videos, and more that can be viewed in our onsite Reading Room. For more online content, explore Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive our ever-growing portal of multimedia essays and video excerpts from the Archives and PillowVoices: Dance Through Time, our monthly podcast drawing from talks, interviews, and other archival audio recordings.
The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, The Ohio State University Libraries
Columbus, OH
Contact: Mara Frazier, Curator of Dance, frazier.88@nullosu.edu
The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute supports researchers, students and life-long learners in journeys of discovery that lead to new knowledge, scholarship, and creative works through deep engagement with extraordinary performing arts resources. Our holdings include costume, scenic and lighting designs; costumes; photographs; posters; artwork; dance notation; realia and so much more. Some noteworthy collections include the Marcel Marceau American Collection, the Dance Notation Bureau Collection, and the Bebe Miller Collection. For more information on these and other dance and movement collections, visit our website at https://library.osu.edu/tri
Mark Morris Dance Group
New York, NY
Contact: Stephanie Neel, Archive Project Manager, stephanie.neel@nullmmdg.org
Now in its 40th year, the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) was founded in New York City in 1980 by artistic director and choreographer Mark Morris. The mission of the Dance Group is to develop, promote, and sustain dance, music, and opera productions by Mark Morris and to serve as a cultural resource to engage and enrich the community. MMDG/Discalced, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 organization comprised of the Dance Group, the MMDG Music Ensemble, and the School at the Mark Morris Dance Center, and is also home to the flagship Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (Dance for PD) program. Through Access/MMDG programming, the Dance Group provides educational opportunities in dance and music to people of all ages and abilities while on tour internationally and at home at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The UCLA Library Special Collections
Los Angeles, CA
Contact: Genie Guerard, Curator & Manuscripts Librarian, gguerard@nulllibrary.ucla.edu
The UCLA Library Special Collections stewards archival materials on dance, including personal papers of dance creators, records of dance companies and organizations, and the history and activities of the UCLA World Arts & Cultures/Dance Department. It also creates and disseminates oral histories of Southern California dancers, choreographers and teachers. The materials are primarily focused on modern dance in the 20th and 21st centuries. Also included in both archives and rare books are materials on dance ethnography, history, and notation. Comprehensive collections of note include the Howard Holtzman on Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis papers, Allegra Fuller Snyder papers, Bethune Theatredanse, and the Barbara and Willard Morgan photographs and papers. The papers of dance critics Arthur Todd, Dorathi Bock-Pierre and Lewis Segal, along with dance programs and photographic collections, provide primary source material on European and American dance from the 19th century to the present. View current collecting priorities our website, and for an overview of dance materials in Special Collections and across the campus, search “dance” on the Online Archive of California (OAC). For more on Special Collections holdings as well as other dance materials available on the UCLA campus and beyond, such as film, e-books, newspapers, dissertations, performance reviews, and online streaming, see the Guide to Dance Research at UCLA
