The Carson-Brierly Dance Library was founded at Colorado Women's College in 1972 by Justin W. Brierly in memory of Martha Faure Carson, one of Denver's noted dance teachers. The collection has since grown to over 6,000 volumes and over 100 periodical titles. All varieties of dance are included, from the historical dances of the pavan, galliard, and minuet to recent developments in contact improvisation and the tap dance revival. Supplemental books on theater history and design, costumes, kinesiology, and therapy are also part of the collection. 

In addition to books, the dance library actively collects programs, press kits, photographs, posters, video and audio cassettes, music scores, and recordings. 

A few of the major collections within the Dance Library include: 

• The Dance Poster Collection, including over 300 dance-related posters and advertisements
• The Souvenir Dance Program Collection, including over 600 programs from dance companies and events world-wide
• Colorado Dance Festival Photographs Collection, including over 1,000 images of artists and companies presented at the Festival
• Colorado Ballet Company Papers, archives and papers, production notes and publicity materials from Denver's major Ballet Company
• The Lillian Cushing McFarlane Ballet Division, with over 2,000 books pertaining to ballet
• The Vytautas F. Beliajus International Folk Dance Library, an extensive collection of folk dance and folklore materials
• The Stern-Elder Microfilm Collection of theses and dissertations about dance from major American universities
• The Glenn Giffin Oral History Collection of taped interviews with dancers and choreographers
  

Steve Fisher, Curator of Special Collections, can be reached by telephone at 303.871.3428.

Learn to Dance and Call Square Dances the Foster Way
Instruction Cards, 1942