Web Resources
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
This link opens in a new window
Research guides, digital collections, information on primary sources, and dozens of links to Web resources from a major performing arts library. - Library of Congress Performing Arts Collections
- This link opens in a new window
Digital collections and primary sources from the performing arts division of the nation's library.
Online Video Resources
- Gould Library Media Collection - DanceThe library's media collection also holds several filmed dance performances and documentaries on dance.
- Jacob's Pillow Dance InteractiveBrief performance excerpts spanning from 1930s dance pioneers to today's most exciting artists. All recorded at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.
Librarian
Getting Started: Selected Reference Books
Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. These sources also include bibliographical references that may prove helpful.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Dance byA single volume reference on all aspects of dance performance. Covers all aspects of the diverse dance world from classical ballet to modern, from flamenco to hip-hop, from tap to South Asian dance forms and includes detailed entries on technical terms, steps, styles, works, and countries, in addition to many biographies of dancers, choreographers, and companies.
- International Encyclopedia of Dance byISBN: 9780195173697Publication Date: 2004-12-23Comprehensive encyclopedia with nearly 2,000 entries for the field of dance. Each entry includes a bibliography of sources for the entry and for further reading.
Finding Books
Catalyst
Catalyst is the shared online catalog of the libraries of Carleton College and St. Olaf College. It provides an access point to the books, periodicals, government documents, and electronic resources available at Carleton or St. Olaf.
Library of Congress Subject Headings are the words and phrases you can use to do a subject search in Catalyst (as opposed to a keyword search, where you may use any words you like).
When starting out, it is often helpful to do a keyword search on your topic, and then to examine the subject headings of the results you find relevant. Catalyst displays these subject headings as links and clicking on one of them will automatically conduct a subject search for that particular topic. If you have trouble finding relevant sources using a keyword search, ask a librarian for help.
WorldCat
Search WorldCat, an online catalog for libraries throughout the world, to take your search beyond Northfield.
Call Numbers
Browsing the stacks can help you evaluate the library's collection in a given field of study. The following call number ranges contain works relevant to dance:
GV1580-GV1799.4 - Dancing
GV1585 - Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
GV1601 - Dance – History
GV1743 - National Dances. Folk dances and dancing
GV1751-1753.5 - Social dancing. Ballroom dancing
GV1763 - Square dances. Quadrilles. Country dances.
GV1781-1783.5 - Theatrical dancing
GV1785-1786 - Dance – Biography
GV1787 - Ballet
GV1799 - Dance for children
ML3400+ - Dance music
Finding Articles
Use databases and indexes to locate articles and book chapters on your topic. Gould Library does not subscribe to all of the titles listed in these resources. If we don't have what you're looking for, take advantage of our InterLibrary Loan Services.
- IBTD: International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some abstracts)
Discover scholarship on all aspects of theater and performance in 126 countries. Covers 1984 - current. - Dance Online: Dance Studies Collection This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Periodicals, reference materials, books, dance notation, and photographs from the history of 20th and 21st century dance. - Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
Contains scholarly journals, trade publications, and magazines from across the disciplines and from popular culture. Much of the content is available in full text. An ELM Database. - ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
A broad, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary search tool. Covers 1973 - current. - Arts & Humanities Citation Index This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and abstracts)
Available through the Web of Knowledge, this tool allows cited reference searching for literature from 1975 - current.
Note: To do cited reference searching, click on "cited reference search," fill in an author's last name and publication date, figure out which of the resulting list of citations match the work you're looking for, and then "finish search" to see who has cited that work.
