Carol Teten has a passion: to shine a spotlight on the art of historical dance. A teacher, scholar, choreographer, and publisher, Ms. Teten has been recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in her field. Among the many distinctions of her 45-year career, she initiated the Department of Dance at Dominican College; was commissioned by the Bat Sheva Dance Company in Israel and the Spoleto Arts Festival in Italy; conducted academic presentations at Harvard University and UCLA; and guest taught at the San Francisco Ballet and London’s Drama Studio. She also founded a professional dance company, Dance Through Time, followed by a dance video publishing house, Dancetime Publications, for the study and practice of historical dance. To create the knowledge base for her companies, Ms. Teten conducted thousands of hours of dance history research throughout libraries and archives in Europe and America. She taught herself to read and translate eight obsolete dance notation systems and amassed a collection of 1,000 rare books, manuscripts, journals, film clips, and other materials. Ms. Teten’s curiosity about historical dance brought her beyond viewing original manuscripts and video clips. To further her pursuit, she brought her love of historical dance to life by choreographing performances of previously forgotten early and vintage dances. Ms. Teten also choreographed and directed six full-length historic dance productions, highlighting social dance as a window to the culture of its era. She recently published her memoir, “Pursuing My Passions“. She is now a mentor for SCORE focused on companies and nonprofits in the arts.
Videos
Publisher, DANCETIME PUBLICATIONS
Ms. Teten founded Dancetime Publications in 1997 in order to publish her own, original work in historical dance preservation and recreation. The company has grown from a personal endeavor to the single most prolific publisher of historical dance materials. Dancetime Publications publishes the works of international researchers and choreographers, preserves lost dance films, and guides the public through all major dance history DVDs online. Ms. Teten led the company to its position as the primary leader in dance history with attention to preserving the vibrancy and meaning of its history. Ms. Teten has carved out a niche market for dance history videos with a worldwide customer base via direct sales and 12 wholesalers. Dancetime Publications has won praise from critics at the New York Times, Washington Post, Library Journal, Dance Magazine, and many other industry publications.
Founder, DANCE THROUGH TIME
In 1980, Ms. Teten founded Dance Through Time with a dual purpose: a research center and dance studio. Here, she led unprecedented efforts in the preservation, dissemination, and performance of social dances of Western culture from the 15th century to the present. Starting with two apprentice dancers and growing to 12 professionals, Dance Through Time dancers performed in 36 states in 120 cities—before a total audience of more than 150,000 people—and toured nationally under the auspices of Columbia Artists Management Inc. Ms. Teten retired from Dance Through Time after 16 years, and the company continues to offer performance, outreach, and educational programs throughout the Bay Area.
Commissions
- CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame
- Bat Sheva Dance Company, Israel
- Berkeley Repertory Theater, CA
- San Francisco Opera, CA
- Spoleto Arts Festival, Spoleto, Italy
Academic Presentations
- Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT
- Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
- Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA
- University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- University of Ohio, Athens, OH
- First International Movement Notation Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel
Teaching Residencies
- California State Summer School for Arts, Arcata, CA
- San Francisco Music Conservatory, CA
- American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA
- St. Mary’s College, MD
Teaching Positions
- Dominican College, San Rafael, CA. Chair, Department of Dance
- College of Marin, Kentfield, CA
- Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Master Classes
- Bat-Sheva Dance Company, Tel Aviv, Israel
- City University of New York, NY
- Drama Studio, London, UK
- San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco, CA
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- University of Ohio, Athens, OH
Lecture/Demonstrations
- Barnard College, New York, NY
- Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Ms. Teten conducts lectures and master classes for scholarly groups, students, and the general public. She teaches a wide variety of dance styles and has developed curricula for teaching social dance in its historical, cultural, and social contexts. She also gives expert interviews for publications and media outlets.
