Editor’s Note: Dance is a big topic! It crosses the boundaries of different disciplines, and it touches so many areas of our lives and cultures. It can be intimidating to get started on a dance research project, paper, or school assignment. Here are some tried and true places to start:

Essential Reference Sources

The Oxford Dictionary of Dance

International Encyclopedia of Dance

Dance Heritage Coalition (Archives)

Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Library of Congress Digital Collections in Dance Materials

The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library

WorldCat, Dance in the United States

The Dance Notation Bureau

Dance Research Journal

JSTOR, Dance in the United States + American Dance

Project MUSE, Dance in the United States + American Dance

The American Dance Festival Archives

Performing Arts Research Guide at the Newberry Library in Chicago

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Digital Dance Records