Dunham's Data: Katherine Dunham and Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry, Repertory, 1937-1962 (ICPSR 38545)

Version Date: May 19, 2025

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Principal Investigator(s):
Harmony Bench, Ohio State University; Kate Elswit, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Great Britain); Tia-Monique Uzor, De-Montfort Univ., UK

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38545.v3

Version V3 ()

  • V3 [2025-05-19]
  • V2 [2025-05-14] unpublished
  • V1 [2022-11-09] unpublished

Summary

The Repertory Dataset is the third public-use dataset in the Dunham's Data series, a unique data collection created by Kate Elswit (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London) and Harmony Bench (The Ohio State University) to explore questions and problems that make the analysis and visualization of data meaningful for dance history through the case study of choreographer Katherine Dunham.

The Repertory Dataset catalogues the various titles and descriptions in Dunham's repertory by which a piece might be known, the years in which it was performed, and all of the singers, dancers, and drummers who were listed as performing in it. The Repertory dataset documents other aspects of each work such as composers of the music, the varying numbers of performers, places of inspiration where available, and whether pieces were performed in concert venues, nightclubs, or both. It also tracks fluid relationships among nearly 300 numbers identified in Dunham's repertory from the 1930s onwards by examining the various scales at which Dunham repurposed choreographic elements over time and for different performance venues, and therefore the alternative ways that works might connect individual performers.

Dunham's Data: Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry is part of a larger suite of ongoing digital collaborations in Movement on the Move.

Citation

Bench, Harmony, Elswit, Kate, and Uzor, Tia-Monique. Dunham’s Data: Katherine Dunham and Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry, Repertory, 1937-1962. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-05-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38545.v3

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Funding

Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AH/R012989/1), Battelle Engineering, Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA) Endowment at The Ohio State University

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

country

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1937 -- 1962

Data Collection Notes

For further information, please see the Dunham's Data website. To view the interactive visualizations, please visit the Dunham's Data research blog.

This release is a Fast Track release and files are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped for release. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the kinds of questions and problems that make the analysis and visualization of data meaningful for dance history. Using digital research methods and data visualization in the context of dance history can catalyze a better understanding of dance movements over time.

Study Design

This dataset was created and audited as follows: The initial The 1947-60 repertory dataset was built alongside the Everyday Itinerary and Personnel datasets, with the structure emerging through the process. The resulting structure was then used to build a dataset from scratch using the same archival information. Further nuance was added to the data structure as part of this second iteration. Then the information from both datasets were compared and manually compiled a new, third dataset that reconciled the two. This reconciled dataset was subsequently expanded to include repertory material from 1937-1962, alongside an expanded draft of the Personnel Check-Ins. Finally, a second audit was completed by extracting every archival reference present in the dataset into a list and manually confirming the data against the archival material.

Time Method

Longitudinal

Data Type(s)

observational data

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

For the description of variables, please see the User Guide.

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Original Release Date

2022-11-09

Version History

2025-05-19 Variable search was added for this study.

2025-05-14 This version reflects a substantial revision to the first released version to correct for errors found.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.