Skip To Main ContentUniversity of Oregon
University of Oregon Libraries
University of Oregon Libraries

CHECKLIST FOR DOING RESEARCH IN WORLD DANCE

I. Take a tour of the Library.

    For a tour of the dance resources locations in the Knight Library, contact the dance librarian (Leslie Bennett) by e-mail lbennett@uoregon.edu or by phone (346-1930).

II. Consult an encyclopedia article on your topic.

  • The International Encyclopedia of Dance.
    [MUS REF GV1585 .I586 1998] (6 vols.)
    Important articles, by groups and country, on dance, including bibliographical information. Use the index in the last volume to determine the heading under which your cultural group will be represented.

  • The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music.
    [MUS REF ML100 .G16 1998]
    Excellent articles on dance in each culture, including choreography and social aspects of dance.
    Each national music and dance has an individual volume, with an accompanying sample compact disc (Doug.Circ. COMPACT DISC CX3875)
    Volumes include: v.1- Africa; v.2-South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean; v.3-The United States and Canada; v.4-Southeast Asia; v.5-South Asia: the Indian Subcontinent; v.6-The Middle East; v.7-The Middle East; v.8-Europe; v.9-Australia and the Pacific Islands; v.10-The World's Music: General Perspectives and Reference Tools.

  • The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2d ed.
    [MUS REF ML 100 .N48 2001]
    and on the web, under Other Reference Guides, then Reference Sources, Online, then Encyclopedias, and finally, Music.
    Look under the name of the country or culture for articles on dance in its cultural context.

III. Consult a guide to your specific world area.

    For a comprehensive list of resources in dance and dance cultures, see:

    Research in dance : a guide to resources. by Mary Bopp.
    [MUSIC REF Z7514.D2 B6 1994]

    Examples in the UO collections include:

  • African-American Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale & Dance, 1600's - 1920: an annotated bibliography of literature, collections and artworks.
    [KNIGHT Z 5956 .A47 S68 1990]

  • Dance in India: an Annotated Guide to Source Materials.
    [KNIGHT Z 7514 .D2 V34]

  • Dance Research: Published or Publicly presented by members of the Study Group on Ethnochoreology.
    [MUSIC REF GV 1594 .D2 1991]

  • A historical documentation, an instructional manual and an annotated bibliography of selected folk dances of Puerto Rico
    [KNIGHT MICROFICHE GV1632.P9 F54 1990a f.1-4 ]

  • Indian Music and Dance: a Select Bibliography.
    [MUS REF ML 120 .I5 K46 1986]

  • Sources on African and African-related dance.
    [KNIGHT Z7514.D2D74]

  • Yugoslav Dance: an Introduction and List of Sources Available in United States Libraries.
    [KNIGHT Z 7514 .D2 D86 1981]

IV. Search for books and recordings on your intended area in the Subject section of the UO Library's Catalog.

    The following subject headings are especially useful for finding books and recordings on dance of various cultures:

    Dance- [name of country]

      ex: Dance- Africa

    Folk Dancing, [name of ethnic group or nationality]

      ex: Folk Dancing, Cajun

    Names of individual dances

      ex: Flamenco (for books on the dance);Flamenco Technique(for books and/or videos on the actual steps, etc.)

    Names of particular ethnic groups- add Dance

      ex: Jewish Dance

V. Search the UO Library's indexes for articles about your topic.

    Some of the best resources to consult include:

  • Bibliographic Guide to Dance
    [MUS REF Z 7514 .D2 N4]
    (Published by the New York Public Library's Dance Collection, this has been the definitive resources for books, articles, and illustrations of dance materials.)
    This is also searchable on-line through the New York Public Library's Dance Catalog , under Dance in the Databases & Indexes section of the UO Library's catalog.

  • The Music Index
    [MUS REF. ML118 .M845]
    (A good resource for articles about dance forms and styles in English and most European languages.)
    The library has 1949 to 2001 in paper; 1979 - present on the web at http://www.hppmusicindex.com

  • RILM
    [MUS REF. ML118 .R4]
    (A more in-depth index to international articles about dance, music, and related fields.
    This is searchable on-line through the UO Library's web site, under Databases & Indexes)

  • Abstracts in Anthropology
    [KNIGHT GN 1 .A15]
    (For the more ethnologist-oriented articles in the related anthropology disciplines)

  • Anthropological Literature is the on-line version of the index,
    available on the web at the UO Library's web catalog, under Databases & Indexes/Letter A.

  • The Human Relations Area File
    This unique source is actually a cumulation of reports and articles by anthropologists about native peoples of the world, compiled by the University of Berkeley. It examines the social and cultural aspects of people around the world.
    The Library owns the CD-ROM of this source, which is housed in the Knight Reference Department, at [CDROM GN301 .E443] (Ask for it at the Reference Desk.)

  • ERIC
    (For articles about teaching and learning dances of other cultures)

VI. Explore the following list of specialized journals in the field of world dance.

    These are indexed in the Music Index, the New York Public Library's Bibliographic Guide to Dance, and in RILM.

    Consult Ulrich's Periodical Guide, available on the UO Library's web site at Other Catalogs: Publisher Directories to determine which index is best used to find articles in these specific journals:

    You might also check the List of Dance Journals at the UO for a more complete list of call numbers and holdings of the collection.

      Balungan: A Publication of the American Gamelan Institute
      [MUSIC ML 1 .B34]

      Dance research : published or publicly presented by members of the Study Group on Ethnochoreology.
      [MUSIC REF GV1594 .D2 1991]

      The Dancer. [Official bulletin of Folk Dance Federation of Oregon]
      [OR.COLL. GV1743.D3]

      English Dance and Song.
      [MUSIC ML 5 .E565]

      The Folk dancer. (1941- 1946)
      [KNIGHT GV1743 .F56]

      Folk music journal.
      (Supersedes: English Folk Dance and Song Society. Journal of the English Folk Dance & Song Society.)
      [MUSIC ML 5 .F6 ]

      Sruti (Music & Dance in India)
      [MUSIC ML 5 .S726]

      UCLA journal of dance ethnology.
      [KNIGHT GV 1580 .A83a]

      Viltis.
      [KNIGHT GV 1743 .V5]

VII. Don't forget record jackets, cassette program notes, and video recordings as sources for information.

Recordings:

    The following discography may be of interest for the program notes in the recordings listed:

    The University of Oregon's World Music Discography will be available at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/Discographies/worlddisco.html (It is currently under repair.)

Videos:

    You will also be able to search the The UO's World Music & Dance Video Web Site at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/Videos/Worldvids/worldvid.html. (Currently, this site is under repair.)

    Three sets of particular interest to world dance scholars are:

      The JVC Smithsonian/Folkways video anthology of music and dance of Africa.
      [S.l.] : Victor Company of Japan ; distributed by Multicultural Media, c1996
      3 videocassettes (156 min.) sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 3 guides. VHS format.
      CONTENTS: v. 1. Egypt, Uganda, Senegal -- v. 2. The Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria -- v. 3. Kenya, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa
      [VIDEO COLL VIDEOTAPE 03237]

      The JVC/Smithsonian Folkways video anthology of music and dance of the Americas.
      [S.l.] : JVC, Victor Company of Japan ; Montpelier, VT : Distributed by Multicultural Media, c1995.
      6 videocassettes (332 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 6 guides.
      CONTENTS: v. 1. Canada and the United States -- v. 2 - v. 3 The United States -- v. 4. The Caribbean -- v. 5. - 6 Central and South America.
      [VIDEO COLL VIDEOTAPE 02827]

      The JVC video anthology of world music and dance.
      Tokyo : JVC, Victor Company of Japan [production company], 1988 ; Cambridge, MA : Rounder Records [distributor], [1990]
      30 videocassettes (1523 min.) : sd., col.; 1/2 in. + 9 guides. VHS format.
      CONTENTS: v.1-2. Korea -- v. 3-4. China --v. 5. China 3/Mongolia -- v. 6. Vietnam/Cambodia -- v. 7. Thailand/Burma -- v. 8. Malaysia/ Philippines -- v. 9- 10. Indonesia -- v. 11-13. India v. 14. Pakistan/Bangladesh -- v. 15. Sri Lanka/Nepal/Bhutan -- v. 16. Turkey/Iran/Iraq/Lebanon/Qatar v. 17. Egypt/Tunisia/Morocco/ Mali/Cameroon/Zaire/Tanzania -- v. 18. Chad/Cameroon --v. 19. Ivory Coast/Botswana/Republic of South Africa -- v. 20. Ireland/England/France/Switzerland/West Germany/Spain/Italy/Greece v. 21., Poland/Czechoslovakia/Hungary -- v. 22. Romania/Yugoslavia/Bulgaria/Albania v. 23. Russia -- v. 24. Latvia/Estonia/Lithuania/Belorussia/Ukraine/Moldavia v. 25. Azerbaijan/Armenia/Georgia/Dagestan -- v. 26. Kazakh/Uzbek/ Turkmen/Tajik/Kirgiz/Kalmyk/Mari/Bashkir/Siberia v. 27. North American Indians -- v. 28. Mexico/Cuba/Bolivia/Argentina v. 29. Micronesia/Melanesia/Australia -- v. 30. Polynesia/New Zealand.
      [VIDEO COLL VIDEOTAPE 01376]

VIII. Web & E-Mail Sites of Interest to World Dance Scholars:

Guides to Internet Resources on World Dance:

Other Resources on the UO Dance web site:

  • UO Dance Research Guide
  • UO Dance Videos (Currently under repair, but available at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/Dance/Dancevids/dancevid.html

IX. Finally - Keep track of what resources you've used in case the Library doesn't own the journal article or book you want.

  • Before you go to the Interlibrary Loan department, try your search in the UO Library's catalog, then try it again in SUMMIT which allows you to get the items in three working days.

    •  

  • You can also request items through Interlibrary Loan on line by using the Interlibrary Loan forms available on that site.
    Note the source where you found the citation to each item.

Return to top

Maintained by: Leslie Bennett, lbennett@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 11/28/2006