Non-Western Dance Resources

Print Resources


The International Encyclopedia of Dance is the best source for selecting non-western dance materials.  It is located in the Reference section of the Fine Arts Library at call number GV 1585 .I586 1998 v. 1-6.

If you know the name of a specific dance that you want to use, look it up by alphabetical order.  If you do not have a specific dance in mind, the best strategy for selecting a dance from this source is to look up a specific non-Western country (e.g. Korea, Egypt, or China) or to choose from an entire region (e.g. the Middle East or Africa).  Check with Professor Lindberg to see which African forms will not be covered in class; any subject covered in class will not be an acceptable topic for the paper.

Use the library catalog to find books about your topic. 

Some databases may also provide citations for books on your topic.  If you find a citation for a book not owned by University Libraries, you may request that we borrow the book on your behalf from another library using the Interlibrary Loan service.  Please allow up to ten working days for book delivery.

Online Resources

Resources by Subject, accessible from the libraries' website (http://libraries.ou.edu), is another valuable tool for finding information.  Access the "Dance" section.  This will present you with databases that were specifically chosen because of their relevance to research in the field of dance.

Within a database, your best search strategy will be to use the name of a country coupled with the keyword "dance" (such as "China" and "dance," with "and" joining the two search terms).  If you know the name of a specific dance you would like to research, you can try searching by the specific dance name.  Some articles will be available full-text within the database.  If an article is not available full-text, you will need to note several pieces of information from the citation to find the article later.  This includes the:

  • journal title
  • volume number
  • article title
  • author
  • date of publication
  • page numbers
Once you have the citation information for an article, you will use the library catalog to see if OU Libraries provides access to the article, either online in another database, in print, or on microform.  You will use the journal title to perform the catalog search.

Within our Database list, the International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance is a good resource for researching non-western dance.

International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance
Access content in International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance as well as full-text for titles including Canadian Theatre Review, Dance Chronicle, Dance Teacher, Modern Drama, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, Research in Dance Education, Research in Drama Education, Studies in Theatre and Performance, TDR: The Drama Review, Theater, and many more. Full-text available.

Research Assistance


**Ask the library staff for help if you have a question.**

(405) 325-4243

Maintained by: Fine Arts Library
Last updated: 12/7/2010 4:04:21 PM
Accessible at: http://libraries.ou.edu/cms/?id=21
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