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The Congress on Research in Dance, 1965
- Wesleyan University Press
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The Congress on Research in Dance, 1965 The Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) was created to facilitate research in dance. The purposes listed on the CORD web site (www .cordance.org, 2007), are to encourage exploration in all aspects of dance, including related fields; to foster the exchange of ideas, resources, and methodology through publication, international and regional conferences , and workshops; and to promote the accessibility of research materials . CORD was founded as the Committee on Research in Dance in 1965, when concern for dance research was beginning to burgeon. It grew out of a National Council on the Arts in Education conference, held in August 1964 at Oberlin College and attended by members of the American Dance Guild, American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Dance Notation Bureau (Bird 1967:1). Representatives of the Arts and Humanities Program of the United States Office of Education (USOE) were interested in further pursuing a conversation pertaining to the funding of research in dance. Consequently, a meeting was scheduled to take place following the American Dance Guild convention planned for October 1964. This meeting stimulated the recognition of the need for a committee that would continue the discussion on research in dance. A hundred invitations were sent “to people who had something to do with research—selected on a word-of-mouth, hit-ormiss basis” (Bird 1967:1). The first CORD conference was held May 26–28, 1967, at the Greyston Conference Center of Teachers CollegeColumbia University in Riverdale, New York. It was titled “Research in Dance: Problems and Possibilities.” CORD incorporated as a not-forprofit organization in 1969 in the State of New York with membership open to individuals and institutions. In 1978, the organization changed its name to the Congress On Research in Dance, retaining its original moniker. The CORD web site lists its founders as Bonnie Bird, from the 92nd Street Y; Harry Bernstein from Adephi College; Nadia Chilkovsky at the Philadelphia Dance Academy; Martha Hill from the Juilliard School of Music; Lucile Nathanson, director of dance at the Y; Patricia Rowe, professor of dance at NYU; Jeannette S. Roosevelt, professor of dance at Barnard College; Bessie Schönberg, professor of dance at Sarah Lawrence College; Theodora Weisner, professor of dance at Brooklyn College; and Lucy Venable, director of the Dance Notation Bureau and professor of dance at Ohio State University. 90 In its initial years, CORD members gathered together to encourage dialogue among dance professionals engaged in research, working in disparate parts of the United States. Over the years, CORD has continued to develop conferences and publications for dancers and dance scholars to share their ideas and research. CORD’s membership currently includes The Congress on Research in Dance 91 Cover of CORD Dance Research Mongraph 1:1971–1972, edited by Patricia A. Rowe and Ernestine Stodelle. Courtesy of the Congress on Research in Dance. [3.239.214.173] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 10:17 GMT) colleges, universities, and libraries, and 590 scholars from the United States and 150 individuals from other areas around the world. In 1969, CORD began to publish Research Annuals focusing on specific topics. The first, Research in Dance: Problems and Possibilities, the proceedings from the first CORD conference, was edited by Richard Bull and included a comprehensive overview of research in dance in the United States. In addition to written contributions by Selma Jeanne Cohen, Genevieve Oswald, Patricia Rowe, and Claire Schmais, whose interviews appear in this text, the first annual contains contributions from numerous other seminal figures in the field of dance, including dance scholars Matteo and Juana de Laban; dance ethnologist Judith Lynne Hanna; dance historian Lillian Moore; dance educator and choreographer Nadia Chilkovsky ; movement analyst Irmgard Bartenieff; dance notator, scholar, and educator Lucy Venable; Dr. Harlan Hoffa from the United States Office of Education (USOE); and J. R. de la Torre Bueno, founding editor of the Wesleyan University Press. CORD began disseminating news and activity in dance research through CORD News, first distributed in April 1969. It included reports of conferences, events, and workshops. It contained a section listing dance research-related resource materials, including ongoing, published, unpublished , periodical, and visual matter. Volume I, no. 1, of CORD News announced that an ad hoc committee on Research and Resources had been formed to further identify and document additional resources for dance scholars. Another important aspect of the newsletter was its focus on reporting government activity and opportunities related to dance and arts research. The...