Library for the Performing Arts, Living Library: Dance Theater Workshop Exhibition Guided Access Tour

This exhibition tour is first come, first serve. 

In the 1960s, much like today, artists in New York struggled with limited access to resources and space—key elements to make new work. Dancers and choreographers, who need space to move and experiment, felt these limitations perhaps the most. Thinking about how to support artists in a new way, Jeff Duncan, who had worked with Anna Sokolow and Dorothy Humphrey during his early career, opened his living space to other artists to create, rehearse, and present their work. This became the Dance Theater Workshop, a legendary downtown space that helped to launch the careers of countless dance artists including Bebe Miller, Bill T. Jones, Donald Byrd and Ron K. Brown. As artists continue to face challenges of funding, space, and professional support, the history of Dance Theater Workshop deserves a closer examination to help provide insights into the past, and a way forward to a more equitable artistic ecosystem. 

The Library for the Performing Arts highlights this history in its exhibition, Room to Move: Dance Theater Workshop and Alternative Histories of Downtown Dance. Explore the history with a free guided tour led by Library staff.

For 60 years, The Library for the Performing Arts has provided a hub for artists, scholars, and lovers of dance, music, theater, and the performing arts at-large. In celebration of the Library's 60th anniversary, Summer for the City presents a series of events for all ages, including film screenings, storytimes, reading parties, dance recitals, exclusive tours of the Library's treasures, participatory workshops, play readings, pop-up shops, concerts, silent discos, and more! You’re invited to experience the cultural legacy of New York from an expert's perspective and explore the vast collection of one of the country's greatest arts libraries.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at alexteplitzky@nypl.org. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.