Guide to Dance Choreography

The purpose of this page is to provide access some of the more useful sources for classical and modern choreography research.

Getting Started

Keywords: Think about words that describe your topic and the variations of that word as well as artists and groups that are involved in this form. Boundaries are not clear-cut between styles and some artists cross perceived boundaries. This can give you great angles for your research, but can also make it hard to stay focused on a topic precise enough for a good paper.

Encyclopedias and indexes are a good place to start your research. They can help you identify a topic for your paper, and often include useful bibliographies.

International Encyclopedia of Dance  REF GV 1585 .I586 1998
This addresses dance in all forms, with an emphasis on classical.

International Dictionary of Ballet
REFERENCE GV 1585 .I57 1993

Music Index
BOOK STACKS and REFERENCE ML 118 .M84  
Dance is a topic included in this yearly index from 1961-on.

 

Books & Videos

CSUSM has purchased a variety of materials on dance, including choreography, or performance design. All are listed in the CSUSM catalog and can be found through keyword or subject searches. Note some books in the catalog are available through electronic format (click on the WWW link in the catalog record for 2-hour access.) To search for books, you need to use a library catalog. Depending on how much time you have, you have a couple of options.

Books at Cal State San Marcos

Library Catalog
Search our local collection of about 250,000 books.

Other Options

Circuit (1-3 day delivery)
Search the collections of other San Diego area libraries -- about 3,000,000 books. Find and request books directly online; pick them up at our Library in 1-3 days.

WorldCat (5-10 day delivery)
Search the collections of libraries world-wide -- about 52,000,000 books. Find a book in this database, and fill-out an Interlibrary Loan delivery request. Book will be delivered to Library for pickup.

Library of Congress: Search Music, Theatre, and Dance
This agency works to collect all materials published in the US as well as all English language materials, so the coverage on any research topic is extensive. The catch is that the LoC does not lend materials, so try ordering through our Interlibrary Loan office if you find something you must have. The search information offered on this page is very useful in understanding how an academic library collection works.

Useful Keywords

Keywords can be subject to interpretation by a computer search function in ways you never imagined! Try to be specific in your search. Use 'modern dance' rather than 'dance' if you are looking for that specific form. 'African dance' will bring back dance in Africa as well as dance performances by African-Americans.

Useful Subject Terms

A more focused search of a library catalog is to use specific subject headings. These are labels used to group related books together. 'Dance choreography' is such a large topic, you will want to think of ways to narrow it down, by time period, geography, style, specific performer or choreographer, etc. Ask a librarian to help, or here are some examples to think about:

• Choreography
• Choreography--United States--History  (note the geographic and time limiters)
• Choreography--Study And Teaching
• Choreographers  
• Cunningham, Merce  (note the last name, first name format when looking for a person as subject. This also is the format to use when looking for a work by a specific author, director or artist.)
• Modern Dance A subject heading for a particular style of dance, materials under this subject heading may be instructional or demonstrative.
• Labanotation  (a form of written notation to record dance choreography and movement)
• Ballet Dancing--Terminology
• Movement, Aesthetics Of    
• Performance Art (a related term to choreography in that it can include dance as one form of expression.)

Browse the Book Stacks
Sometimes, just looking through the shelves can turn up works you would not have considered otherwise. Using the Library of Congress subject system, Dance as performance is shelved in the GV call number area.

Videos

While generally not used for research in most disciplines, due to the visual nature of dance, video recordings of dance performances can be very important in your research. The videos will be located in the CSUSM Media Library using the same call number system as you used to find books on your dance study.

Journal Articles

Dance-related journals include some of the latest research in the field as well as discussion of specific aspects and movements. Journals are a good source for finding very detailed information on your topic. It is best to start with a couple of books before diving into journals to get ideas on terms to use in your search as you will get so many hits on the 'big picture'. To search for articles, you need to start with research databases.  Each will allow you to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at once. Some databases are directories, rather than full-text collections. Use the link to check our other resources for the full text of the article. The first choice to make is which databases to look in first! Here are some recommendations:

Art Abstracts
Includes abstracts from periodicals, yearbooks, museum bulletins, competition and award notices, exhibition listings, interviews, film reviews, and more.

JSTOR
Contains complete full-text back files (EXCEPT for the latest five years) of core scholarly journals in such areas as sociology, history, economics, political science, mathematics, African-American studies, Asian studies and others.

Project Muse
Full-text coverage for hundreds of scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.

RILM Music Abstracts
Abstracts from scholarly journals on international music and related disciplines, including dance.

Internet Sources

Your instructor may allow use of some web pages you find on the Wild Wild Web. NOT ALL SITES ARE OF EQUAL VALUE TO YOU AS A RESEARCHER. Exercise caution with statements you find and look for references lists and citations for supporting documentation. Without careful fact-checking and research, you don't know what is truth and what is fiction, but the instructor grading your paper is going to know! Click on a link below to open a page of reliable sites you can check out:

Before getting started, you might want to refer to this reference book in our collection: Art Information and the Internet: How to Find it, How to Use It at REF N59 .J66 1999. This discusses, among other topics, museum web sites, search strategies and more. See the Museums page for online art collections hosted by museums from around the world.

Copyright of Choreographic Works
Although a bit dated (written in 1994), this is important information for both complying with and protecting your work by proper use of copyright.

Dance Notation Bureau
The mission of this group is to preserve dance through the use of symbol notation (Labanotation).

Dancers and Choreographers
Web site from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on employment opportunities, job outlook and education and training requirements in the field of dance.

Institute for Choreography and Dance
While European-focused, this site does offer limited information on performances and publications.

National Dance Association
A sub-group of AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) includes calls for competition and event announcements a well as educational resources.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, Inc.
An organization to "foster, promote and develop the creativity and craft of stage directors and choreographers" providing communication, employment advice and more.

Local Sources

Video On Demand
A collection of performances, lectures, interviews, and installations recorded at UCSD. These are free to watch using RealPlayer. Use the video finder subject divisions to look at the offering (advise using the Arts & Music collection and then using the "by subject" tab". A title/keyword search option is available also. Subjects of interest are Artist Profiles, Fine Arts, Media Arts, Public Art & Installations.

 

Citing Your Sources

As you write your paper, you'll need to cite passages and ideas from the sources you've found.  In order to cite your resources properly, you need to follow the style specified by your instructor. See the STYLE GUIDES to locate a quick summary online or the shelf location for the style guide manual you need to use.

 

Finding Other Material

The library catalog tells you what we own in either physical or virtual form, but what if you need something that we don't own?

Books can be ordered through Circuit (look for the Circuit button in the library catalog.)

Articles can be located by clicking on the if there isn't a copy available in our research database collection.

Dissertations are very rarely needed, but if available for loan, can be requested through ILL.

Videos are normally not lent out through ILL, you need to go to the library that holds the item to view there or borrow yourself. You may find a video available for rent online, but they are normally very expensive.