In April 2017, a landmark conference marked a 'moment in time' for Dance
Studies, that acknowledged and celebrated its maturity as an academic discipline.
The conference, Dance Fields: Staking a Claim for Dance Studies in the 21st Century,
was co-convened by three leading centres for Dance Studies in the UK (Universities
of Coventry, De Montfort and Roehampton). This book has emerged from the
conference and whilst the chapters could never be fully representative of all that
was shared, they capture something of the range and spirit of the presentations.

The authors, based in the UK and internationally, write from their experiences
as dance scholars, teachers and practitioners. Themes are very varied, including
the documentation of overlooked or emerging histories; new critical insights,
initiatives and perspectives (including inventive dissemination platforms); and
fresh interdisciplinary exchanges. Together, the collection reflects developments
within Dance Studies; developments that have responded to the impact of increased
access to video, the internet and digital technologies, which have transformed the
way that dance is documented, transmitted, studied and shared. At the same time,
this expansion of media has stimulated a renewed focus on the knowledge that
dancers carry and how research in Dance Studies can access and document that
knowledge, as well as how dance products (performances, choreographies, films,
and so on) have generated new insights about dance.

As the book reveals, these
developments are core to how Dance Studies has grown, influencing other modes
of thought, and other disciplinary fields, whilst establishing Dance Studies as a
vital discipline in its own terms.