Best dance history books

Released in early 2025, this book provides current insights into salsa music, its origins, and dancing. It serves as a valuable reference tool, linking theory and practice with background information from the Salsa People dance school in Switzerland.

Reviewed in late 2025, this book by Yvonne Rainer is described as a gem, providing current and inventive approaches to choreography and dance education. It offers unique ideas for teaching movement to both trained dancers and pedestrian performers.

Recommended in 2025, this reference book provides an up-to-date and visually rich chronological history of ballet. It covers renowned companies, dancers, and over seventy ballets, making learning both literary and visual for enthusiasts.

This collection of essays by Susan Manning, a founder of critical dance studies, offers fresh analytical perspectives on modern dance history. Its 2025 publication ensures it provides contemporary insights into dancing, dancers, and dances within a global context.

Published in 2025, this book by Dominique Savitri Bonarjee offers a contemporary and in-depth look at Butoh dance. It utilizes unique methods of oral storytelling and embodied transmission, contributing significantly to the understanding of this influential dance form's history and philosophy.

This 2024 work by Emmanuel Cudjoe provides valuable insights into non-Western dance forms and their cultural significance. It traces the history, embodiment, and transmission of Ghanaian Kete Royal Dance from traditional settings to academic contexts, diversifying the scope of dance history.

Published in 2024, this biography chronicles the evolution of the Simonson Technique and its global influence. It's a very recent work that details the impact of a significant dance innovator and her technique on the contemporary dance world.

Released in 2025, this visually striking book celebrates the centennial of the Martha Graham Dance Company. It's a current tribute to one of the most influential figures in modern dance, connecting past achievements with present-day impact through stunning photography.

Highlighted in a December 2025 review, this book offers a critical and insightful perspective on the political economy of dance in Hollywood. It addresses previously underexplored aspects of dance history, particularly concerning race and gender in the industry.

Although published in 2022, this textbook remains a relevant and ongoing educational tool for dance history courses. It challenges dominant approaches by charting diverse histories and stories of dancers and artists through ten key moments, from indigenous rituals to modern online platforms.

Despite its original publication in 2010, this book by Jennifer Homans is consistently cited as a foundational and currently relevant text in 2024 and 2026. It offers a comprehensive cultural history of ballet, making it a timeless resource for understanding ballet's historical trajectory.

Highlighted in 2026, this extensive biography is the first major work on George Balanchine, a pivotal figure in 20th-century ballet. It offers current and in-depth insights into his life and work, relating his actions to the historical events of his lifetime.

Recommended in 2025, this book by Phil Chan is a timely and important work that addresses the portrayal of cultural stereotypes in classical ballets. It advocates for the Asian community in the ongoing global conversation about representation in dance history.

Featured at the 2025 Dance Book Fair, this project offers a radical and artist-centric view of dance history. It approaches history as a subjective, artistic inquiry from the embodied and poetic perspectives of twelve diverse American dance artists, providing a fresh and current methodology.

Highlighted at the 2025 Dance Book Fair, this book by Mindy Aloff offers a compelling and current argument for the enduring significance of dance to human beings. It explores dance's aesthetic, social, and spiritual impacts through personal anecdotes and global stories.

As a comprehensive anthology featured at the 2025 Dance Book Fair, this book by Mindy Aloff provides a rich and diverse historical account of American dance. It covers various influences and locales, from tap and swing to ballet and modern dance, making it a valuable current resource.

Published in early 2025, this book by Deborah Jowitt offers a very recent and in-depth look at the life and works of Martha Graham. As a pivotal figure in modern dance, her story is essential for understanding the evolution of the art form.