Library: Dance: Home

Choreography on Broadway

"Choreographer Gillian Lynne demonstrating feline movement to dancers in rehearsal for the stage production 'Cats.'" By Martha Swope, 1982 - New York Public Digital Public Library

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About This Guide

This guide is created for Windward Community College students in the Dance program, which features classes in ballet and modern dance traditions. For hula traditions, which encapsulate history, religion, dance, and more, contact Hawai'i Resource Librarian, Cindy Texeira at ctex[at]hawaii.edu.

In this guide you'll find links to selected books, databases, websites, and information resources related to western dance. For immediate assistance with your research, please visit the WCC Library Help Desk during library open hours or call 235-7338.

Stretching with Misty Copeland and Elmo

Dance at Windward Community College

Windward Community College offers ballet and modern dance classes. If you are interested in dance, speak with your college counselor about registering for one of the following classes:

DNCE 121 - Beginning Ballet (A. Durrant)
DNCE 122 - Continuing Beginning Ballet (A. Durrant)
DNCE 131 - Beginning Modern Dance (A. Durrant)
DNCE 132 - Continuing Modern Dance (A. Durrant)
DNCE 221 - Low Intermediate Ballet (A. Durrant)
DNCE 231 - Low Intermediate Modern Dance (A. Durrant)
DNCE 270 - Dance Performance (A. Durrant)

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Dance Organizations in Hawaiʻi

Tau Dance Theater Tau Dance Theater (TDT) is the only professional dance company founded by a native Hawaiian based in Honolulu. Established in 1996 by Artistic Director Peter Rockford Espiritu, TDT has produced original epic works to critical acclaim. NAUPAKA: A Hawaiian Opera was mentioned in the New York Times and is listed in the Encyclopedia of Hawaiian Music & Musicians II. Poli’ahu: Goddess of Maunakea toured statewide and was featured at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Hanau Ka Moku: An Island is Born toured statewide and with its final bow at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis. In 2020, TDT was the only dance company to produce a live streamed performance (INDIGENUITY) from a major theatre venue, (Hawaiʻi Theater) in the state of Hawaiʻi. In September 2021, TDT toured to South Dakota as ʻFeatured Guest Artsistʻ at the Crazy Horse Memorial, a national monument that draws over a million visitors annually.
Ballet Hawaiʻi Ballet Hawaii was established in 1976 as “Friends of the Ballet.” Initially it served as the support group to the Honolulu City Ballet whose first Artistic Director was Jim Hutchison. Salaries for the eighteen company dancers and the administrative and technical staff were covered by Federal C.E.T.A. funding. “The Friends” raised money for sets, costumes and production costs to fulfill their mission, which was “to provide performances, demonstrations and programs to educate the public to the art of the Ballet.” The company productions included classics such as Nutcracker and Coppelia. In 1979, the Federal C.E.T.A. funding ran out and with no alternative funding, the Honolulu City Ballet was forced out of existence. “The Friends of the Ballet” remained active, still committed to supporting ballet in Hawaii and found itself taking on the role of implementer and producer of ballet, rather than just being a support group.
Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association, (HBDA), “Where Dancing Begins”, was founded in 1959 by Eugene and Harriet Ichinose, has grown into one of the largest ballroom dance organizations in the State of Hawaii. There are eight (8) chapters throughout the islands of Oahu, Big Island and Maui with an aggregate membership of approximately 600 members. HBDA is a non-profit, 501C3 tax-exempt, organization dedicated to the promotion, teaching and encouragement which foster motivation and development of ballroom dancing for the people of Hawaii Nei. The Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association (HBDA) offers both American and International style of ballroom dance. HBDA has been nominated as the “Best Ballroom Dance Lessons” for the Honolulu Magazine 2009 Best of Honolulu Awards.