UK’s first online dance archive launches in Coventry

The first online dance archive in the UK, the Siobhan Davies Archive, has been launched. The archive has already received 7000 visits from 49 countries.

Funded by a major grant from the AHRC, the archive is a collaboration with leading British choreographer Siobhan Davies who is Visiting Professor of Dance at Coventry University. Siobhan launched the archive locally at the Institute of Creative Enterprise (ICE) and then hosted a London launch at the Siobhan Davies Studios, attended by many leading artists, composers, photographers, film makers and cultural leaders. 

The archive has received considerable attention for the opportunities it provides for dance to be seen by a much wider population, providing access to dance materials that would otherwise remain unavailable and thereby preserving a valuable part of our cultural heritage.

There are many unique aspects of the archive, which open up new possibilities for how dance is made, documented and distributed. Sarah Whatley, Professor of Dance, leads the project and is now looking at how the work on the Davies archive can be developed to create more digital archives. In recent months the archive has been one of several international projects which have been the subject of examination and debate for researchers exploring innovative approaches to the creation of digital choreographic objects. Visit the Siobhan Davies Archive.