This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Selma Jeanne Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Name | Selma Jeanne Cohen |
| Birth date | 1920-04-02 |
| Birth place | New York City |
| Death date | 2005-12-22 |
| Death place | New York City |
| Occupation | Dance historian, editor, educator, critic |
| Notable works | International Encyclopedia of Dance |
| Awards | Presidential Research Award (City College of New York), Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark) |
Selma Jeanne Cohen was an American dance historian, editor, critic, and educator who played a pivotal role in establishing dance studies as an academic field. Over a career spanning the mid-20th century into the 21st, she combined archival research, editorial leadership, and pedagogy to shape scholarship on ballet, modern dance, and folk traditions. Cohen's work connected practitioners, institutions, and scholars across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Selma Jeanne Cohen was born in New York City and raised in a milieu connected to the performing arts and publishing in Manhattan. She studied at Hunter College and earned a master's degree from Columbia University, where she engaged with collections at the New York Public Library and encountered archival holdings related to ballet and modern dance. During graduate study she researched materials connected to companies such as the Ballets Russes and figures including Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Anna Pavlova, informing her lifelong interest in primary sources and provenance.
Cohen began her professional life as a dance critic and archivist, writing for publications linked to institutions such as the Dance Observer and contributing reviews in outlets associated with the New York Times and periodicals covering opera and theatre. She held positions at the The New School and collaborated with curators at the Museum of Modern Art and librarians at the Library of Congress. Her career included fellowships and research residencies supported by organizations like the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies, enabling comparative work on European companies including the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet.
Cohen authored essays and monographs on subjects ranging from choreography of George Balanchine to repertory of the Martha Graham company, and she documented the work of pedagogues such as Enrico Cecchetti and Agrippina Vaganova. Her scholarship appeared in journals linked to Dance Research and collections from conferences of the International Theatre Institute and the Society of Dance History Scholars. She edited volumes addressing folk traditions tied to nations like Russia, Japan, and Mexico, and she produced annotated bibliographies used by librarians at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and academics at New York University.
Cohen is best known for founding and editing the multi-volume International Encyclopedia of Dance, published in collaboration with editors and contributors associated with the G. K. Hall publishing program and academic partners such as City College of New York. The encyclopedia assembled entries from scholars affiliated with institutions including Harvard University, Oxford University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Michigan, and Smithsonian Institution. It documented companies like the Kirov Ballet, figures such as Isadora Duncan, and events including the Prix de Lausanne, while integrating cross-references to archives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the V&A Museum. The project received support and recognition from arts funding bodies including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation.
As a teacher and mentor, Cohen developed curricula at institutions such as Queens College, City College of New York, and summer programs connected to the American Dance Festival. She supervised graduate research that produced dissertations on topics involving choreographers like Twyla Tharp and historians associated with the Dance Notation Bureau. Her students went on to positions at universities including Rutgers University, Colgate University, and conservatories such as the Juilliard School and Bates College, extending her influence across scholarly and performance communities.
Cohen received honors from national and international organizations: a presidential award at City College of New York, an honorary appointment tied to the European Commission culture programs, and knighthood in the Order of the Dannebrog for services to Danish cultural exchange connected to touring by companies such as the Royal Danish Ballet. Her editorial and scholarly achievements were recognized by societies including the Dance Critics Association, the Modern Language Association (in allied scholarship), and the International Council on Archives for her work in documentation and bibliography.
Cohen maintained close ties with collectors, librarians, and performers across New York City and major cultural centers including London, Paris, and Copenhagen. Her papers and correspondence are held in archives associated with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and academic repositories at City College of New York, providing resources for historians studying figures such as Pina Bausch and institutions like the School of American Ballet. Cohen's legacy endures through the continued use of the International Encyclopedia of Dance in university libraries, citations in monographs on ballet and modern dance, and the careers of scholars she mentored.
Category:American dance historians Category:1920 births Category:2005 deaths