Society of Dance History Scholars

The Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS) is a professional organization for dance historians in the United States and worldwide. Founded in 1978, it became a non-profit organization in 1983.^[1] SDHS has been a member of the American Council of Learned Societies since 1996, and hosts an annual conference, publishes conference proceedings and a book series, and presents awards to new and established scholars.

SDHS includes scholars in musicology, anthropology, history, literature, theatre, performance studies, and other fields. Many members combine research and performance, and SDHS welcomes graduate students, as well as more seasoned scholars, among its members. The society also contains several working groups, which meet at the annual conference. SDHS has close ties with its peer organizations such as the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD).

Since 1988 the Society publishes a periodical Studies in Dance History, which was redefined as a monograph series in 1994. It includes various scholarly texts in dance history.^[2]

Awards offered

• de la Torre Bueno Prize
• Gertrude Lippincott Award
• Selma Jeanne Cohen Award

Conferences

• 2010 "Dance & Spectacle" July 8–11, 2010, University of Surrey, Guilford and The Place, London, UK.
• 2009 "Topographies: Sites, Bodies, Technologies" June 19–22, 2009, Stanford University and San Francisco, California. Conference held in conjunction with DCA.
• 2008 "Look Back/Moving Forward" June 12–15, 2008, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.
• 2007 "Re-Thinking Practice and Theory/Repenser pratique et théorie" 21–24 June, Le Centre National de la Danse, Paris, France.
• 2006 "Grounding Moves: Landscapes for Dance" 15–18 June, The Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada.
• 2005 "Dancing from the Center" 9–12 June, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
• 2004 "Celebrating Dance: Celebrating History" 17–20 June, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
• 2003 "Dance History on Shannon’s Shore" 26–29 June, University of Limerick, located on the river Shannon in County Limerick, Ireland.
• 2002 20–23 June, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 2001 "In the Moment" Goucher College, Towson, Maryland.
• 2000 "Dancing in the Millennium" 19–23 July, Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC. Joint participation with twenty organizations.
• 1999 10–13 June, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• 1998 18–21 June, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.
• 1997 " '79-'97: Reflecting on Our Past, Reflecting on Our Future" 19–22 June, Barnard College, New York, New York.
• 1996 "Speaking of History: Dance Scholarship in the '90's" 13–16 June, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• 1995 "Border Crossings" 10–14 May, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada. Joint conference with the ADUCC (Association for Dance in Universities and Colleges in Canada).
• 1994 "Retooling the Discipline: Research and Teaching Strategies for the 21st Century" 10–13 February, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
• 1993 "Of, By and For the People; How Dance Proclaims Political Ideals, Ethnicity, Social Class, Age Group Identification, and Regional Pride" 11–13 June, Hosted by the Dance Collection, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, New York. Joint conference with CORD, including participation of ADG, DCA and NYPL Performing Arts Dance Collection.
• 1992 "American Dance Abroad: Influence of the United States Dance Experience Around the World" 14–16 February, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California.
• 1991 "Dance in Hispanic Cultures" 8–10 February, New World School of the Arts, Miami, Florida.
• 1990 "Contemporary Issues in Dance a Global View" 15–28 July, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong, China. The Fifth Hong Kong International Dance Conference: a joint effort with over twenty international organizations.
• 1989 "American Choreographers Today and Yesterday: Regional Influences" 17–19 February, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
• 1988 "Ballet Russe: 1909-1962" 12–14 February, North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• 1987 "Isadora Duncan and Her Context" 13–15 February, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, California.
• 1986 "Mary Wigman" 14–17 February, City College, New York, New York.
• 1985 "Antony Tudor" 15–17 February, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• 1984 "Interdisciplinary Perspectives" 17–19 February, Goucher College, Towson, Maryland.
• 1983 "Methods and Resources in Dance History" 11–14 February, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
• 1982 13–15 February, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Note: This conference did not have a specific theme, but the program is mistakenly entitled the "Fourth Annual Conference."
• 1981 "A Bicentennial Celebration: Dance as Social and Popular Entertainment" 22–28 June, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Joint conference with ADG and CORD.
• 1980 "Western Dance History" 15–17 February, Barnard College, New York, New York.
• 1979 "Western Dance History: Resources and Teaching Methods" 16–18 February, Barnard College, New York, New York.
• 1978 "Dance History Education on the College Level" 8 April, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.

Working Groups

• Dance History Teachers
• Early Dance
• Dance and Technology
• Dancing the long nineteenth century
• Popular, Social and Vernacular Dance
• Practice-as-Research
• Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Dance Studies
• Students in SDHS

Notes

1. Kolcio, Katja (Spring 2007). "A pillar supporting research in dance for 40 years" (Word doc). CORD Newsletter. Congress on Research in Dance. XXVII (1). Retrieved 2008-06-08.
2. Studies in Dance History

References

• Society of Dance History Scholars - official site
• Congress on Research in Dance