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Dance Education Research with Oral History: Practice and Potential

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  • By Caroline Sutton Clark
  • Source: The Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research , pp 64-77
  • Publication Date: September 2025
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/9781835951347_8
  • Language: English
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This chapter presents both practical methods and creative possibilities of oral history methodology with a focus on dance. While the term “oral history” is sometimes used casually to describe any kind of interviewing, oral history is, in fact, a distinct methodology using performative interviews that are recorded and archived with the intention to be made public. While excellent scholarship exists on interviewing, dance researchers face unique challenges and opportunities as oral historians. This chapter serves as an introduction to the history, theory, protocols, challenges and types of projects that dance researchers may pursue through oral history methods plus the kinds of data that these interviews produce. Throughout, the chapter illustrates with specific examples from her many years of creating archives with dancers from diverse forms. The modern practice of oral history is rooted in advocacy for lost or marginalized voices; dancers often fall into this category as the knowledge of teachers and other practitioners is shared through spoken advice, casual storytelling and movement. Drawing upon performance studies, oral history methods bring the experiences of dancers forward with specific techniques effective for generating knowledge between the interviewer and narrator as a type of structured improvisation. These research projects often provide benefits for the dancers being interviewed through having their voices heard and recorded to be passed down. Then, archives ensure that their life stories and wisdom remain part of the public record in perpetuity, advocating for the presence of many forms of dance in a community.

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References

  1. Abrams, Lynn (2010), Oral History Theory, New York: Routledge.
  2. Clark, Caroline S. (2016), ‘“We learned to perform by performing”: Ballet dancers in a beer hall’, Journal of Dance Education, 16:1, pp. 139–43.
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  3. Dance USA (2023), ‘Archiving and preservation’, https://www.danceusa.org/archiving-and-preservation. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  4. Easley, Greg (2012), Discussing Stanley Hall, in-person interviews with C. Clark, Austin, TX, February 3, March 23.
  5. Ellsworth, Elizabeth Ann (2005), Places of Learning: Media, Architecture, Pedagogy, New York: Routledge.
  6. Fogerty, James E. (2007) ‘Oral history and archives: Documenting context’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 197–226.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Freund, Alexander (2009), ‘Oral history as process-generated data’, Historical Social Research, 34:1, pp. 22–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Friedman, Jeffrey (2008), ‘Fractious action: Oral history-based performance’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 223–67.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Friedman, Jeffrey (2011), Legacy Oral History Program, San Francisco, August 4–6.
  10. Frisch, Michael H. (1990), A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History, Albany: State University of New York Press.
  11. Greene, Robert L. (2016), ‘The role of stimulus structure in human memory’, in B. H. Ross (ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 133–59.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Grele, Ronald J. (1998), ‘Movement without aim: Methodological and theoretical problems in oral history’, in R. Perks and A. Thomson (eds), The Oral History Reader, New York: Routledge, pp. 38–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Hahn, Tomie (2007), Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture through Japanese Dance, Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.
  14. Howard-Logan, Arletta (2014), In-person interview with C. Clark, Austin, TX, January 22.
  15. Janesick, Valerie J. (2010), Oral History for the Qualitative Researcher: Choreographing the Story, New York: Guilford Press.
  16. Jefferson, Robert F. (2008), ‘Interfaced memory: Black World War II ex-GIs’ and veterans’ reunions of the late twentieth century’, in P. Hamilton and L. Shopes (eds), Oral History and Public Memories, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, pp. 187–206.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Layman, Lenore (2009), ‘Reticence in oral history interviews’, Oral History Review, 36:2, pp. 207–30.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Merriam, Sharan B. (2005), Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, Indianapolis: Jossey-Bass.
  19. Morrissey, Charles T. (1997), ‘On oral history interviewing’, in R. Perks and A. Thompson (eds), The Oral History Reader, 1st edition, New York: Routledge, pp. 107–113.
  20. Norkunas, Martha (2009), ‘Oral history methods’, in-person workshop, September 1.
  21. Oral History Association (2020), ‘Information about IRBs’, https://oralhistory.org/information-about-irbs/. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  22. Oral History Association (2023), ‘Home page’, https://www.oralhistory.org. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  23. Pollock, Della (2005), Remembering: Oral History Performance, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  24. Portelli, Alessandro (2006), ‘What makes oral history different’, in R. Perks and A. Thomson (eds), The Oral History Reader, 2nd edition, New York: Routledge, pp. 32–42.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Rubin, Herbert and Rubin, Irene (2005), Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data, 2nd edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
  26. Sharpless, Rebecca (2007), ‘The history of oral history’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 9–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Smithsonian Folklife Museum (2023), ‘Smithsonian Folklife Museum oral history guide’, https://museumonmainstreet.org/sites/default/files/Smithsonian%20oral%20history%20guide.pdf. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  28. Snow, Stephanie J. (2020), ‘“I don’t know what I’d have done without this project”: Oral history as a social and therapeutic intervention during COVID-19’, in H. Kara and S.-M. Khoo (eds), Researching in the Age of COVID-19: Volume 2: Care and Resilience, Brighton: Policy Press, pp. 25–34.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Sutton Clark, Caroline (2025), ‘Dance education research with oral history: Practice and potential’, The Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research, Bristol: Intellect, pp. 64–77.
  30. Thomson, Alistair (1998), ‘Fifty years on: An international perspective on oral history’, The Journal of American History, 85:2, pp. 581–95.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Thompson, Paul (1978), The Voice of the Past: Oral History, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  32. Williams, Rhonda Y. (2001), ‘“I’m a keeper of information”: History-telling and voice’, Oral History Review, 28:1, pp. 41–63.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Wong, Alan (2003), ‘Conversations for the real world: Shared authority, self-reflexivity, and process in the oral history interview’, Journal of Canadian Studies, 43:1, pp. 239–58.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Yow, Valerie Raleigh (2015), Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 3rd edition, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
  35. Sutton Clark, Caroline (2025), ‘Dance education research with oral history: Practice and potential’, The Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research, Bristol: Intellect, pp. 64–77.

References

  1. Abrams, Lynn (2010), Oral History Theory, New York: Routledge.
  2. Clark, Caroline S. (2016), ‘“We learned to perform by performing”: Ballet dancers in a beer hall’, Journal of Dance Education, 16:1, pp. 139–43.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Dance USA (2023), ‘Archiving and preservation’, https://www.danceusa.org/archiving-and-preservation. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  4. Easley, Greg (2012), Discussing Stanley Hall, in-person interviews with C. Clark, Austin, TX, February 3, March 23.
  5. Ellsworth, Elizabeth Ann (2005), Places of Learning: Media, Architecture, Pedagogy, New York: Routledge.
  6. Fogerty, James E. (2007) ‘Oral history and archives: Documenting context’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 197–226.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Freund, Alexander (2009), ‘Oral history as process-generated data’, Historical Social Research, 34:1, pp. 22–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Friedman, Jeffrey (2008), ‘Fractious action: Oral history-based performance’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 223–67.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Friedman, Jeffrey (2011), Legacy Oral History Program, San Francisco, August 4–6.
  10. Frisch, Michael H. (1990), A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History, Albany: State University of New York Press.
  11. Greene, Robert L. (2016), ‘The role of stimulus structure in human memory’, in B. H. Ross (ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 133–59.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Grele, Ronald J. (1998), ‘Movement without aim: Methodological and theoretical problems in oral history’, in R. Perks and A. Thomson (eds), The Oral History Reader, New York: Routledge, pp. 38–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Hahn, Tomie (2007), Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture through Japanese Dance, Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.
  14. Howard-Logan, Arletta (2014), In-person interview with C. Clark, Austin, TX, January 22.
  15. Janesick, Valerie J. (2010), Oral History for the Qualitative Researcher: Choreographing the Story, New York: Guilford Press.
  16. Jefferson, Robert F. (2008), ‘Interfaced memory: Black World War II ex-GIs’ and veterans’ reunions of the late twentieth century’, in P. Hamilton and L. Shopes (eds), Oral History and Public Memories, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, pp. 187–206.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Layman, Lenore (2009), ‘Reticence in oral history interviews’, Oral History Review, 36:2, pp. 207–30.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Merriam, Sharan B. (2005), Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, Indianapolis: Jossey-Bass.
  19. Morrissey, Charles T. (1997), ‘On oral history interviewing’, in R. Perks and A. Thompson (eds), The Oral History Reader, 1st edition, New York: Routledge, pp. 107–113.
  20. Norkunas, Martha (2009), ‘Oral history methods’, in-person workshop, September 1.
  21. Oral History Association (2020), ‘Information about IRBs’, https://oralhistory.org/information-about-irbs/. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  22. Oral History Association (2023), ‘Home page’, https://www.oralhistory.org. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  23. Pollock, Della (2005), Remembering: Oral History Performance, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  24. Portelli, Alessandro (2006), ‘What makes oral history different’, in R. Perks and A. Thomson (eds), The Oral History Reader, 2nd edition, New York: Routledge, pp. 32–42.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Rubin, Herbert and Rubin, Irene (2005), Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data, 2nd edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
  26. Sharpless, Rebecca (2007), ‘The history of oral history’, in T. L. Charlton, L. E. Myers and R. Sharpless (eds), History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology, Lanham: AltaMira Press, pp. 9–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Smithsonian Folklife Museum (2023), ‘Smithsonian Folklife Museum oral history guide’, https://museumonmainstreet.org/sites/default/files/Smithsonian%20oral%20history%20guide.pdf. Accessed June 1, 2023.
  28. Snow, Stephanie J. (2020), ‘“I don’t know what I’d have done without this project”: Oral history as a social and therapeutic intervention during COVID-19’, in H. Kara and S.-M. Khoo (eds), Researching in the Age of COVID-19: Volume 2: Care and Resilience, Brighton: Policy Press, pp. 25–34.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Sutton Clark, Caroline (2025), ‘Dance education research with oral history: Practice and potential’, The Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research, Bristol: Intellect, pp. 64–77.
  30. Thomson, Alistair (1998), ‘Fifty years on: An international perspective on oral history’, The Journal of American History, 85:2, pp. 581–95.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Thompson, Paul (1978), The Voice of the Past: Oral History, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  32. Williams, Rhonda Y. (2001), ‘“I’m a keeper of information”: History-telling and voice’, Oral History Review, 28:1, pp. 41–63.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Wong, Alan (2003), ‘Conversations for the real world: Shared authority, self-reflexivity, and process in the oral history interview’, Journal of Canadian Studies, 43:1, pp. 239–58.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Yow, Valerie Raleigh (2015), Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 3rd edition, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
  35. Sutton Clark, Caroline (2025), ‘Dance education research with oral history: Practice and potential’, The Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research, Bristol: Intellect, pp. 64–77.

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