Dance Resources  Tags: dance choreography tammy tammy_ravas ravas dancer dancers  

Welcome to the Dance page!

Here you can find links to dance information such as bibliographies, guides, encyclopedias and dictionaries.  

This is a work in progress, so please feel free to comment or contact me directly.  My contact information is located on the right-hand side of this page. 

Here are some tips and strategies to locate resources needed to complete your project or paper this Fall Semester. Please note that doing research in World Dance can reach across several different disciplines such as music, art, theatre, history, ethnic studies, etc. This list will help to get you started with this fact in mind.

Getting started:

Encyclopedias:

International Encyclopedia of Dance (New York: Oxford, 2004)
Call number: 792.803 I6153 v.1-6 Level 4 (non-circulating)
- You can look up specific countries, world regions, names, or other topics in alphabetical order by volume to get started. There are bibliographies at the end of most entries; search for titles of these books or articles in our catalog or databases for further information.

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (New York: Routledge, 1998-2002)
Call number: 780.96 G2332 v.1-10 Level 4 (non-circulating); also ask for accompanying CDs with the same call number at the Check-Out desk on Level 3.
- You can look up specific countries or cultures to read about their music and dances. Keep in mind that entries are not alphabetical but organized by geographical region by volume. In order to look up a specific topic, please look at volume 10 for the general index. Bibliographies follow most entries.

JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance (Montpelier, VT: JVC, [2005])
Call number: DVD 01845 Level 3 at the Check-Out desk
- While this isn't a true encyclopedia, there are books which accompany each video that could provide helpful background information on a country or culture you're interested in researching.

Finding books:

Online Catalog:

1. Use an Advanced Search (available on the right hand side of our main web page at http://www.lib.umt.edu in the yellow space).

2. Type "danc?" in the first text box and select "subject keyword" from one of the drop-down boxes below it. Using the question mark (?) will catch variable endings to the word dance (i.e. dances, dancers, etc.).

3. In the next text box, type the name of the country or culture you're interested in researching and select either keyword or "subject keyword" from the drop down
box below it.

Finding articles in journals, magazines, or newspapers:

Try similar search strategies in the online catalog by using the words "dance" and the country or culture you'd like to research. If you've discovered a specific dance from a particular country or culture, try entering the name of that dance as well.

Dance and performing arts specific:

International Index to the Performing Arts: This database provides access to some full text articles.

Dance Education Literature and Research Descriptive Index: Provided by the National Dance Education Organization, this datbase focuses more on dance education research, however it can still be helpful for finding articles on a country or culture's dances. No full text is provided, so it's important to record citations and look up the sources in our catalog or journal holdings.

Music:

Music Index: Provides linking to full-text articles.

RILM: Also provides linking to full-text articles as well as other kinds of scholarly literature in music.


Art (finding images):

ARTstor: This resource locates images of artworks in museums. Images can be downloaded to your desktop.

Finding Images: My LibGuide which details other methods of finding images from reliable sources online.

Anthropology or Ethnic Studies:

Try Julie Edwards' guides in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies to locate literature on a particular world dance.

What do I do if the Mansfield Library doesn't own a particular item?

If you search the catalog for a book or media item and we don't have it, you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan. Click on the following link for more information:
http://www.lib.umt.edu/ILL

Please follow the instructions on the site to set up your account. Next, you can visit WorldCat, which searches thousands of libararies' catalogs across the country and the world, to locate another library which may own the book or media item you seek. It is possible to submit an Interlibrary Loan request directly through WorldCat by clicking on the "Send request to ILL" link in the item's description.

If you cannot locate an article you need through the Mansfield Library's databases, and you've checked to see if the Library had the article in print, you may also request it through Interlibrary Loan. Some databases may allow you to request the item directly and you may need to write down the article citation for others and fill out the form in ILLiad (our ILL program).