THE MYRIN VIRTUAL LIBRARY

• Britannica
  • This is the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica, containing articles on pretty much every topic you can think including dance.
• The Oxford Dictionary of Dance [2000. Reference 792.803 C846]

Use the Library Catalog to search for books on a particular Dance related topic, starting with a general "Words or Phrase" search to see what you can find. Make sure to note which location the book is found in. Dance Books in Myrin Library are located in 

• The Main Stacks on the third floor, Folio room on the 3rd Floor
• The Folio Section on the second floor if the books are oversized.

The call number for most Dance books begins with the Dewey Decimal Classification Call number of 792. Other books may be found with the call number of 793, such as folk dancing. 

If you are not having much luck with the keyword search, you can use a "Subject" search by choosing that tag from the drop down menu on the main search page to hone in on a specific topic. This can be tricky, but here are some examples of what you can use (the links will take you directly into the catalog with the search results for these subject terms):

• Dance
• Ballet
• Choreography
• Feminism and dance
• Improvisation in dance
• Modern Dance
• African American dance

If you can't find books in Myrin Library on your topic, try looking for them in Worldcat.org.  Once you've found the specific titles you would like, you will need to submit a request to borrow them from Interlibrary Loan.

To search in the Myrin Library catalog, for print journals, use Power Search.  Type "dance" in the words/phrase box.  Choose "Journal, Magazine, or Newspaper" as type.  At least 13 titles will be found using this search strategy.

For online, scholarly journals, start in some of these databases to find dance-related articles. If you find a record for something that isn't full text, you'll need to use InterLibrary Loan to request it.

• Academic OneFile
  • The best place to start to look for scholarly journal articles and popular magazine articles on dance-related topics. Not everything is full text so you will need to InterLibrary Loan what you can't get here. Full-text Dance Journals included in this database are:
    • Dance Magazine (1994-present)
    • Folk Music Journal (2004-present)
    • JOPERD, the journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (1993-present)
• AnthroSource
  • This database includes scholarly journal articles on dance with an anthropological or socio-cultural context.

  Lexis-Nexis

  • This database includes hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles that will give you information on dance performance reviews and contemporary dancers. Coverage is generally back to the 1980s and is ALL full-text.

  JSTOR

  • Our current multi-disciplinary collection of JSTOR journals does not include very many specific dance journals. However, it is still worth searching in here to see what is available, as it is all Full-Text and all scholarly.

  Project Muse

  • Articles from scholarly journals such as Dance Research, Dance Research Journal, and PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art are included in this database.

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• DVDs and Videos available at Myrin Library
• YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.  Search YouTube for different forms of dance, including: Ballet, Modern Dance, Tap Dance, and Scottish Highland Dancing.

• The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts - Jerome Robbins Dance Division
  • The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library is the "largest and most comprehensive archive in the world devoted to the documentation of dance". Finding aids to collections and special digitized collections are accessible on the website. At least 15,000 film titles are available for viewing onsite at the library on a first-come, first-served basis for researchers.
• Performing Arts in America 1875-1923
  • This digitized collection from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts comprises of a database of 16,000 objects representing archival materials of the period 1875-1923, including clippings about Gertrude Hoffman, and photographs of Isadora Duncan and Loie Fuller.
• Dance Heritage Coalition - America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100
  • According to the website, the list of the 1st 100 dance treasures is intended "to heighten public interest in the magnificence and richness of America's dance heritage." This is a good starting place for exploring dancers, choreographers, or dance companies for further study.
• Artslynx International Arts Resources - Dance - Dance History Research and Scholarship
  •  A portal of arts information on the web, specifically designed for researchers, scholars, students, and arts professionals. This is another good starting place for dance history research exploration. 
• Arts Alive.ca
  •  A portal of dance history and education resources from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

   

  Philadelphia Area Resources:

  • Dance USA/Philadelphia
  • The Dance Journal: Writings and Musings on dance in the region brought to you by PhiladelphiaDANCE.org
  • Philadelphia Dance Links

   

  Professional Associations and Societies:
  • Dance Organizations and Associations
  • Society of Dance History Scholars - Resources

  Innovative Dance Resources:

  • Accelerated Motion: Towards a New Dance Literacy

  • Synchronous Objects

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The Theater & Dance Department requires that all students cite their resources.

Here's a guide to using the MLA style from the OWL at Purdue, specially updated to reflect the 2009 changes.  

The 7th edition of the MLA Handbook is on reserve at the Circulation desk in Myrin Library.

Updated September 2009