Drama Library

1. Begin with a Choreographer

Examples of Choreographers from the late 19th and early 20th century

• Loie Fuller
  1862-1928
• Isadora Duncan
  1877-1927
• Vaslav Nijinsky
  1890-1950
• Martha Graham
  1894-1991
• Merce Cunningham

2. Consult an encyclopedia

You can find basic information on their life, work, and a bibliography of sources. Some encyclopedias also have photographs of the choreographer and of their work.

The International Encyclopedia of Dance is an excellent six volume encyclopedia developed as a project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. Copies are available in the Reference areas of Suzzallo Allen, OUGL, and Bothell GV1585 .I586 1998. See part of an article on Martha Graham from The International Encyclopedia of Dance.

3. Subject Search in the library catalog

Remember to type the choreographer's last name first in the online catalog.

Choreographer Pics: http://fusionanomaly.net/loiefuller.jpg | http://www.danceworksonline.co.uk/assets/sidesteps/duncan/duncan.jpg | http://community.middlebury.edu/~moss/Nijinsky.JPG | http://www.danceworksonline.co.uk/assets/sidesteps/graham/martha_grahamsml.jpg | http://danceheritage.org/images/cunningham.jpg

Other good subject searches:

• Ballet Dancers Russia Federation Biography
• Choreographers -- United States
• Choreographers -- United States -- Biography
• Choreographers -- United States -- Interviews
• Choreography
• Dance in art -- Exhibitions
• Dancers -- United States -- Biography
• Dancers -- United States -- Interviews
• Modern dance
• Modern dance -- Pictorial works
• Modern dance -- United States -- History

4. Journal and Dissertation Search

Consult the Dance Databases page for a list of databases which index dance journals and dissertations on dance.

5. Web Search

Information on the WWW varies; some is useful, other information is not. Use the same criteria for evaluating WWW pages that you use for Evaluating a Source in print.

Examples of Dance websites and issues regarding them

• You can get lots of hits on Loie Fuller; however, most of them are the Jules Cheret poster of her Paris debut in 1893.

• You can find book reviews on Loie Fuller and even the first chapter of Loie Fuller: Goddess of Light by Richard Nelson Current and Marsha Ewing Current. Photography by Langfier published by Northeastern University Press. Although only the first chapter is online, check to see if the library has this book by searching the Online Catalog.

• Connections
  Developed by Ohio State

  Usually sites maintained by dance organizations or academic programs have better quality than sites maintained by individuals you can't identify. Connections is a hypertext database that illustrates the connections between key figures, companies, and works in the development of ballet and modern dance from the time of the Action Ballet to the present. It is in development and still limited in its information. You might want to check this site from time to time to see if more information has been added. Sometimes these sites keep compiling information from faculty and students.

  The site currently breaks down information into:
  Action Ballet | Pre-Romantic Ballet | Romantic Ballet | Spectacular Ballet | Reform of Ballet | Early Modern Dance | Modern | Post-Modern

• Cyberdance has links to dance organizations, colleges with dance programs, and links to other dance and dance related sites but there is no information available about the author of the site. Still it does provide links to useful websites and information.

Choreographer Webpages

Some choreographers have their own webpages, for example:

• Merce Cunningham
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre
• Paul Taylor Dance Company

Library Guide to Dance

The Library also maintains a Dance Links page with links to useful dance sites.