Dancing the Long Nineteenth Century

This working group serves as a forum for scholars interested in the history of dance during the long nineteenth century.

This working group is a forum for scholars interested in the history of dance during the long nineteenth century. We welcome scholars with a focus on any geographic area and dance form, and our interests include, but are not limited to, the following subjects:

• theatrical dance and artistic issues
• social and popular dance
• intersections between dance and other art forms
• intersections between dance and other fields of knowledge
• the relationship between dance and politics
• the flows of and interaction between national and regional forms and variants of dance practice

This caucus of scholars, including those interested in the reconstruction and performance of nineteenth-century works, meets at our annual conferences to share ideas and information. Our goals include:

1. welcoming interdisciplinary examination of the arts in this century, inviting scholars from related disciplines (music, literature, philosophy, architecture and the visual arts, theatre history, cultural history, and so on) to submit appropriate papers to DSA conferences.
2. sharing ideas on research strategies and information on new sources of materials.
3. sharing information on publication outlets for work on the 19th century.
4. proposing panels and/or coordinating paper proposals.
5. providing networking opportunities and introducing graduate students to experienced scholars working in areas of common interest.
6. overall, increasing the visibility of research being done on nineteenth-century dance and providing support for peers and colleagues engaged in this work.

Current Initiatives:

During the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 academic years, the DSA working group, Dancing the Long Nineteenth Century, has been offering sporadic workshop conversations regarding publishing venues for research in the field. The first meeting addressed book publication, the second considered journal opportunities, and upcoming sessions will review other types of publication options.

Previous Initiatives:

Mentoring in Dance History

During the 2025-2026 academic year, the DSA working group, Dancing the Long Nineteenth Century, developed and administered a program of mentoring in dance history (in and beyond the nineteenth century). 11 mentor-mentee pairs were established at various career stages.

Dance and Disruption: Science and Body in the Long Nineteenth Century

This two-day symposium (originally planned as an in-person event for June 6-7, 2020 at Swarthmore College) and organized by Lynn Matluck Brooks, Cara Gargano, and Olivia Sabee, took place online on August 8-9, 2020. An expanded, edited collection drew on the conference theme and included revised versions of some presentations, as well as new additions, in a dialogic format. Dance and Science in the Long Nineteenth Century: The Articulate Body, edited by Lynn Matluck Brooks with Sariel Golomb and Garth Grimball, was published by the University of Florida Press in 2025.

Writing Circles

Lynn Matluck Brooks and Karen Eliot organized writing circles in 2022 for scholars working in dance history (in the 19th century and beyond). Scholars, including graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars applied to the program and were matched with colleagues. These groups met on Zoom, providing a respite from the isolation brought on by the pandemic. As of 2026, some groups continue to meet.