The Interdisciplinary Nature of Dance Scholarship as Seen Through a Citation Analysis of MFA Theses

The author analyzed the citations from a total of seventy-five dance MFA theses from the years 2010, 2015, and 2020. Results indicate that dance scholars use books more frequently than other types of information. Based on an analysis of Library of Congress Classification areas, the information cited in the theses was very interdisciplinary, with more non-dance resources being cited than dance-specific ones. This information—the first citation analysis focused on dance—helps to establish a baseline of information use in the scholarly dance field and can also be of practical use to the performing arts librarian wanting to better understand how to potentially work with this unique discipline.