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Preserving Our Dance Heritage For Future Generations

Founded in 1978, World Dance Archive’s mission was to establish a living museum of modern dance reconstructions and commission works for diverse audiences.

In 2010, the mission diversified with Dance Treasures Project, launched to promote knowledge about the distinguished artists and dance professionals, whose work was cultivated in California and had significant impact on the field. DTP’s services facilitate creative interactions among the key stakeholders in the dance legacy continuum:

  • Dance professionals and companies
  • Archivists and the institutions with dance collections
  • Future generations of artists and the general public


“I believe each artist can claim a place in the generational links of our dance legacies, representing the diverse worlds of our concert, commercial, heritage-based and social dance forms.”

—Jane Doe Smith

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Dance Archives Project

A free online tool matching artists with suitable institutions to house their materials.

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What’s New

A short film about Michio Ito, the pioneering dancer and choreographer.