A History of Social Dance in America
Presented by the Society for Historic American Visual Culture (CHAVIC) at the American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, MA)

One of the goals of CHAVIC is to engage students and scholars with American prints and ephemera to enhance our understanding of America's history and culture. A life-long interest in classical ballet led Meghan Meade, a student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and Graphics Arts Intern, to undertake a project describing the history of social dance. The content of the project is driven by the holdings of the Society and we are pleased to present her work as a supplement to present scholarship; we encourage others to develop this topic using the Society's collections.

The illustrations and objects depicted in this exhibition provide a brief glimpse into the history of social dance. The abundance of artwork and social artifacts available attest to dance's importance throughout American history. Featured is not only its origin, fashion and forms, but also the unspoken language of dance. Always moving, always changing, dancing has never failed to enchant American society.

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