At a Glance
- University Archives: the History of UCLA
- Los Angeles History and Culture
- History of Medicine and the Sciences
- World Histories and Cultures
- Manuscripts, Rare Books and Print Culture: History of Printing and Publishing
- Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
- Twentieth-and Twenty-first Century Literature
- Performing Arts (Music, Film and Television, and Theater)
- Artists' Books
- Dance
- Punk Music and Culture
- Visual Arts
- Center for Oral History Research
Quick Links
Have questions about your research?
We can help!
The UCLA Library Special Collections’ dance holdings support UCLA's long-standing participation in the creation, study, and reconstruction of modern dance, contemporary ballet, dance for stage and screen, kinesiology, dance therapy, education, criticism, and dance performance reflecting cultures throughout the world. The collections represent and support the exploration of dance scholarship, notation, education, and criticism.
Current Collecting Priorities
- Archives of dance artists and companies not traditionally documented, represented, and supported by the Academy and by concert venue audiences.
- Contemporary dance forms that echo the experiences of local communities and cultures.
- Dance forms that strive to break racial barriers through dance.
- Dance forms that elevate awareness and appreciation for dancers of color, LGBTQ dance groups, dancers with different physical abilities, hip-hop, fusion, breakdance, street dance, site-specific, and performance art.
- Dance in L.A. 1960s-present that broke away from canonical East Coast concert-based performance successes; e.g., Black modern and modern jazz choreography.
- Traditional dance performed by those who live in or have immigrated to L.A. from geographic origins worldwide; e.g., Hawaiian dance and hula, traditional Brazilian dance.
Collecting Criteria
- Archives of Los Angeles-based dance artists, companies, and choreographers.
- Dance genres that formed the identity of L.A. dance, ca. 1960s-present.
- Dance archives that support or supplement dance taught in UCLA World Arts & Cultures/Dance Department.
- Interviews that capture the legacies of L.A. dancers, choreographers, managers, and dance critics.
- Contemporary dance forms that echo the diversity of dance expressions and cultures.
Out of Scope
- Costumes (other than a few exemplary items).
- Large musical instruments, props, or sets used in dance training or performance.
- Materials for which there are donor restrictions that prohibit making them fully accessible.
- Collections whose origins are not connected to the Los Angeles area either historically or theoretically.
Our focus is on collecting materials that shed light on choreographies, technique and training, and performance processes that can be viewed and handled in the Special Collections Reading Room, or in one of our classrooms.
More About the Collection
For reference and other secondary resources on dance, see the following Research Guides:
