Dance Research Guide
- Find Background Info
- Find Books and Films
- Find Articles
- Find the Performing Arts Collection
- Citing Sources
Find Background Info
Background sources, such as specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries, are an essential piece of the research process. They can help you:
- Gather information about your topic and understand the scope of the research.
- Locate reliable sources and to clarify keywords.
- Pinpoint important authors, texts, ideas, and keywords about the research area—knowing what the primary phrases and concepts are will help you a lot as you are searching through library databases and online sources.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference is a multi-publisher collection of high-quality reference titles. Available titles also include a range of multimedia options, including thousands of high-quality diagrams, photographs, maps, and audio files.
Search Dance on Credo Reference
The International Encyclopedia of Dance (Oxford Reference)
The International Encyclopedia of Dance includes articles written by international scholars covering the full spectrum of dance. Cultural and national overviews are accompanied by entries on dance forms, music and costumes, performances, and biographies of dancers and choreographers.
Search The International Encyclopedia of Dance
The Dance Studies Association Bibliographies
Dance Studies Association Bibliographies advances innovative analyses of dance by promoting diverse approaches and a globally inclusive, respectful dialogue in the dance field and various related disciplines. It advances the field of dance studies through research, publication, performance, and outreach to audiences across the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
#CiteAsianDanceScholars
The #CiteAsianDanceScholars resource was created and maintained by the Dance Studies Association Asian and Asian Diaspora Dance Studies Working Group following the Dance Studies Association’s Anti-Asian Violence Statement of Action.
Search #CiteAsianDanceScholars
#CiteBlackDanceScholars
The #CiteBlackDanceScholars resources was created and maintained by the Dance Studies Association and highlights Black dance scholarship by Black dance scholars.
Find Books and Films
Print and e-books are valuable sources for academic research. They will help you gain an overview of your topic and often contain in-depth information about the scholarship or history of research on a subject. Some books are written by single authors, while others include essays or chapters by multiple scholars within a discipline. Don’t let the length of books intimidate you because you don’t need to read them from cover to cover. Look at the table of contents and index to find the sections that are relevant to your work.
Find Books Using GriffinSearch
GriffinSearch is a good starting place if you are looking for books, journal articles, films, and other materials available in the library. In addition to searching the Giovale Library catalog for physical materials, GriffinSearch finds e-books and articles from several of our databases. To get started, search by keyword or type in the title of a book here:
Digital Theatre+
Digital Theatre Plus includes video resources, interviews, study guides, essays, and lesson plans. Digital Theatre Plus includes productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the BBC, Frantic Assembly, BroadwayHD, the Lincoln Center Theatre, the Old Vic, the Stratford Festival, Shakespeare’s Globe, Gecko Theatre, L.A. Theatre Works, the Royal Opera House, the Almeida Theatre, the English National Ballet, and many more.
Search Dance in Digital Theatre+
Academic Videos Online (AVON)
Academic Videos Online (AVON) provides unlimited access to a comprehensive selection of videos curated for the educational experience.
Search Academic Videos Online (AVON)
WorldCat
WorldCat lets you search for books, articles, videos, and other material that are available in libraries worldwide. If you are doing in-depth research on a topic and are considering requesting resources through Interlibrary Loan, WorldCat can help you discover resources that might not be in the Giovale Library collection.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary Loan is a service where patrons of one library can borrow books and other materials, and access journal articles that are owned by another library.
Explore Interlibrary Loan Materials
Utah Academic Library Consortium
Giovale Library participates in the Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC) and Westminster University students have reciprocal circulation privileges at UALC partner libraries. Each UALC library has different circulation policies, but all require a current, valid, legal photo identification and proof of current enrollment at Westminster University. Some libraries may also require other verification methods, so it is recommended that you contact the member library you are interested in for details.
Popular Titles and Featured Texts
Dance and Belonging: Implicit Bias and Inclusion in Dance Education
World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle
The Dance Experience: Insights into History, Culture and Creativity
Shaping Dance Canons: Criticism, Aesthetics, and Equity
Find Articles
The Giovale Library provides access to several subject databases that you can use to find journal articles on topics within a specific discipline or field of study. The databases listed on this page are most useful for finding research published in Dance.
JSTOR
JSTOR is an archive of full text articles from journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. It includes retrospective coverage of publications as well as access to many current journals.
Fine Arts (Gale)
The Fine Arts (Gale) includes the full text of journal articles on topics related to theatre, music, visual art, art history, and film.
MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO)
The MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO), produced by the Modern Language Association, has citations for journal articles, books, and dissertations concerning literature, modern language studies, and drama.
Find the Performing Arts Collection
The Giovale Library has a collection of Performing Arts materials including classical to modern philosophy and theory of performing arts, production, set design, musicals, and plays.
The Performing Arts Collection is in the basement of the Giovale Library. It can be searched in the catalog or GriffinSearch by selecting Performing Arts Collection under location.
Citing Sources
Citation Resources
Properly citing your sources shows that you’ve done research to become knowledgeable about your topic and helps you avoid plagiarism. Explore citation resources to learn how to correctly cite sources based on style.
Need help with your research?
Get in touch with:
Robyn Ward
Liaison Librarian for Dance
Librarians are happy to answer questions via email, phone, or in-person.
Contact Robyn with a question or to schedule a research help appointment.
Faculty: Contact Robyn to suggest edits to this research guide.
Chat with a Librarian
Use the chat box below to ask the library staff a question. If chat is unavailable or we don’t respond quickly, please use the email form on our Get Research Help page and a library staff member will contact you as soon as we are available.