ABSTRACT
Kate Van Winkle Keller was a cultural historian with a gift for seeing things differently. She utilized a sophisticated analysis of social dance to demonstrate its significance as a historically important cultural activity connected to broader social and political issues. Where earlier writers presented the dance instructions or their history, Keller combined both, providing practical instructions while placing dance in its historical context and bringing readers greater understanding of dance’s meaning and significance. To articulate Keller’s approach as a model for future researchers, this chapter considers how four of her publications contributed to the development of a new method of studying historical dance. After reviewing the origin of the English Country Dance, its early twentieth-century revival, and its continued cultivation as a recreational pursuit, this chapter presents a theoretical model and highlights parallels with contemporary concepts in social anthropology to delineate Keller’s broad, interdisciplinary approach that combined dance studies and historical research. To illustrate the potential of her approach for future historians and dancers, I discuss its influence on my own research on dance in early colonial Australia. By doing so, this chapter identifies the important qualities of Keller’s work in establishing a new prototype for historical dance research.
