Administrative Information
Provenance
This collection of dance notation, descriptive scenarios of dance and movement, and dance scores originated from copyright deposits submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office to register rights for choreography. The collection remains open for future additions through the U.S. Copyright Office and by direct submission from choreographers or dance notators.
Accruals
Additional copyright deposits, dance scores notated using codified symbols, and other dance notation items given to the Music Division will be added to this collection.
Processing History
Elizabeth Aldrich inventoried and processed the Dance Notation Collection in 2012. In 2020, Libby Smigel reassessed, processed, and rehoused the collection, and Rachel McNellis coded the finding aid for online access. The finding aid will be updated to accommodate additional dance notation documents and scores that the Music Division obtains.
Other Repositories
Outside repositories containing significant collections of dance notation include the Dance Notation Bureau, which houses the largest collection of dance scores written in Labanotation, as well as the Dance Notation Bureau Collection at Ohio State University and Benesh International at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.
Related Material
The Music Division holds a wide range of dance-related collections with notated dance scores. Notably, the American Dance Theatre Archive houses scores notated in Benesh dance notation. The Julia Vincent Cross Papers contains a bound choreography notebook with detailed hand-written descriptions of 29 dances attributed to Alexandre Volinine, Isadora Duncan, Mikhail Mordkin, and others, as well as Cross's own choreography. The Erick Hawkins and Lucia Dlugoszewski Papers includes scores exhibiting a unique choreographic notation devised by Hawkins, as well as music scores that are annotated with choreographic notes and cues. The Library of Congress as a whole has an extensive collection of books devoted to dance notation and dance scores that record works of many genres.
Microfilm
Several works by George Balanchine, Hanya Holm, and Doris Humphrey, deposited between 1953 and 1963, are available on five reels of microfilm that are shelved as Microfilm 2021/02436 (Mus). These materials are described in the finding aid and may be requested using the call number and reel number listed with the item. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Dance Notation Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.