Dance Studies Association
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| Dance Studies Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dance Studies Association |
| Formation | 2009 |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Region served | International |
| Leader title | President |
Dance Studies Association is a scholarly and professional association dedicated to the interdisciplinary study, teaching, practice, and advocacy of dance as a cultural, historical, and artistic phenomenon. The organization brings together scholars, choreographers, performers, archivists, curators, and educators to engage with topics spanning performance history, ethnography, choreography, critical theory, and curatorial practice. It serves as a hub connecting members across continents and institutions involved with universities, museums, festivals, and community organizations.
History
Founded in 2009, the association emerged from discussions among faculty and practitioners connected to programs at New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Oxford, and University of Cape Town who sought an international forum paralleling other scholarly societies such as Modern Language Association and American Historical Association. Early convenings featured keynote figures associated with Judson Dance Theater, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and archives held by New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Smithsonian Institution. The association’s development intersected with debates visible in venues like TDR (The Drama Review), Dance Research Journal, and keynote addresses referencing collections at Victoria and Albert Museum and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Mission and Activities
The association’s mission includes fostering interdisciplinary scholarship across areas represented by archives like the Library of Congress and the British Library, supporting pedagogy practiced at institutions such as Columbia University, Stanford University, and University of the Arts London, and advocating for labor practices discussed in contexts like Actors’ Equity Association and Associated Actors and Artistes of America. Activities range from curriculum development with partners including Kennedy Center, curatorial projects with institutions like Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern, to policy engagement alongside bodies such as UNESCO and arts councils including National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Council England.
Governance and Membership
Governance is conducted through an elected board with officers drawn from academic and artistic institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, and conservatories like Juilliard School and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Membership categories accommodate students, independent researchers, and institutional members from theaters like Lincoln Center, festivals like Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Batsheva Dance Company, Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal, and Rambert Dance Company.
Conferences and Events
Annual conferences rotate among host sites including university venues such as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, University of São Paulo, and cultural centers like Southbank Centre, Carnegie Hall, and Sydney Opera House. Conference programming often features panels, symposia, curated performances, and film screenings linked with festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Venice Biennale, and Festival dei Due Mondi. Satellite events include workshops in partnership with archives like Dance Heritage Coalition and special sessions with publishers such as Routledge, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge University Press.
Publications and Research
The association supports publication outlets and research networks that intersect with journals like Dance Research Journal, Dance Chronicle, TDR (The Drama Review), Performance Research, and book series from Wesleyan University Press and Duke University Press. It promotes digital humanities projects referencing collections at George Mason University, University of California, Santa Barbara Special Collections, and collaborative databases modeled after initiatives at Getty Research Institute and Digital Public Library of America.
Awards and Recognition
Annual awards honor scholarship, pedagogy, and creative practice with named prizes reflecting legacies connected to figures and institutions such as Isadora Duncan, Loïe Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, and archival donors to Newberry Library and Bodleian Libraries. Recognition includes fellowships tied to residencies at centers like American Dance Festival, Yaddo, and Bellagio Center run by Rockefeller Foundation.
Partnerships and Outreach
The association maintains partnerships with museums, archives, festivals, and professional organizations including Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Dance Heritage Coalition, International Theatre Institute, International Council on Monuments and Sites, UNESCO, regional arts agencies such as Creative Scotland and Canada Council for the Arts, and community organizations aligned with Dance/USA, National Dance Education Organization, and university centers like Center for Ballet and the Arts.