Research
on Dance Topics
Books and Videos |
Magazine, Newspaper, and
Journal Articles |
Websites
Subject Searches| Keyword Searches|
Useful Starting Points|
Palomar College Databases| NYPL Dance Catalog
In order to locate books and videos on dance topics students should start with a library catalog. Some good catalogs to use are:
- Palomar Library Catalog
- San Diego Circuit Catalog (books and materials at SDSU, UCSD, San Diego County Libraries, USD, and CSUSM)
- New York Public Library Dance Collection Catalog
The call number range for dance topics is from GV 1580 to GV 1799, with dance bibliographies shelved at Z 7514. Some sample subject searches:
Dance
Dance history
Dance--Cuba (or the name of another particular country)
Name of dance (such as Rumba)
Folk dancing--Mexico (or the name of another country or region)
Choreographers--United States (or another region)
Dancers--United States (or another region)
Dance Encyclopedias
When the student has a particular dance to research (example the Hora), it is better to keyword search the catalog for the name of the dance. A keyword search will scan the content notes of any videos the library has on folk dance or world music. These videos often include footage and commentary on the dance. Keep in mind that if your specific dance and country name does not show up in a search of the catalog, you may have to think in terms of a region rather than a country.
Search Tips:
Search South Pacific or Polynesia rather than just Hawaii for Hula
Search Indonesia rather than just Bali or Thailand
Search the Middle East rather than just Iran or Persia
Books and videos that focus on the culture and/or travel to a particular country can also be sources of locating information on dance topics
If materials are located at another library, consider Inter-Library Loan services to request materials not available at Palomar College Library. The Reference Desk can assist with this request and fees are nominal.
Some of the more helpful starting points in researching dance, located at Palomar College, are:
- International Encyclopedia of Dance, Palomar Library Reference, GV1585 .I586 1998.
- The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance [video recording], Palomar Library Circulating Media, M1627 .J3 1988. This set contains folk dancing and folk dance music information for many regions of the world.
Magazine, Newspaper, and Journal Articles
Students will need to locate magazine, newspaper, and journal articles on their dance topics. Magazines can be a good source of reviews of particular dance companies or for biographical information on dancers. Newspapers often review dance performances. Journals provide scholarly research on dance topics. Palomar College Library subscribes to many databases helpful to the dance researcher. Some suggested starting places for finding this type of resource are:
New York Public Library Dance Collection-Catalog
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection
is
an online catalog which indexes books, programs, tapes, records, clipping
files, illustrations, and articles in periodicals relating to dance. This
catalog is an extremely useful tool for finding information and articles on
dance.
Palomar College librarians have created a set of subject links on Dance.
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