Selma Jeanne Cohen Award

Writing Award for Students

In recognition of Selma Jeanne Cohen's great contributions to dance history, the Society of Dance History Scholars inaugurated an award in her name at its 1995 conference. The Selma Jeanne Cohen Award aims to encourage graduate student members of SDHS by recognizing excellence in dance scholarship. 

Up to three awards will be offered at each conference. Each award includes an invitation to present a paper at the annual conference, waiver of the registration fee for that conference, and a grant to help defray costs of attending the conference. Awards are based on the originality of the research, the rigor of the argument, and the clarity of the writing.

Selma Jeanne Cohen Award Submission Guidelines

Each paper submitted in competition for a Selma Jeanne Cohen Award must be a scholarly treatment of a topic in dance studies. Each must be based on unpublished research or interpretation and must be designed for oral delivery within twenty minutes, including use of audiovisual aids. (Papers running eight double-spaced pages are ideal.)

Students interested in applying for the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award should follow the regular guidelines for conference submission and check the appropriate box on the submission form. If proposals are accepted by the program committee, a full-text version of the paper will be due by 1 March 2010. Please note the change in protocol from earlier years.

All paper proposals submitted for the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award must follow the Instructions for Making Proposals for SDHS Annual Conferences.

Conference abstracts should be submitted by 2 November 2009 through the online Proposal Submission Form.

Once the conference abstract has been accepted, full-text versions of the paper should be submitted by 1 March 2010 through the online Selma Jeanne Cohen Award Submission Form.

Applicants will not receive feedback about their essays.

No submissions accepted by fax.

Direct queries related to SDHS or the conference program to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Phone: 888.748.7347 or 205.978.1404.

The 2010 conference, Conference 2010: Dance and Spectacle, will be held 8-11 July 2010 at University of Surrey, Guilford, outside of London, UK.

To donate to the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award Click Here

Additional Selma Jeanne Cohen Awards 

Selma Jeanne Cohen Conference Presentation Award through American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR)

Deadline: 15 June 2010

Purpose: This award provides up to $1000 to a scholar to participate in a plenary or working session at the ASTR conference. This presentation must, in the spirit of Selma Jeanne Cohen, explore the intersections of theatre and dance/movement. Funds shall be used to cover travel and hotel expenses. The purpose of the award is to encourage scholars in dance and movement-based fields to become active members of ASTR by helping them to meet the travel and hotel expenses of attending and presenting at the ASTR annual meeting. ASTR conference registration fees will be waived for award winners.

For more information: http://www.astr.org


American Society for Aesthetics Selma Jeanne Cohen Prize

Deadline: 15 July 2010

Purpose: In memory of Selma Jeanne Cohen, the American Society for Aesthetics established a $1000 biennial prize in dance aesthetics, dance theory, or the history of dance. Begun in 2008, the next prize will be for a critical article or book of distinction published in English in the biennium from June 2008 to June 2010.

The prize winner will be selected by a committee of three members appointed by the President of the ASA and will be notified by September 2010. The award will be announced publicly during the national meeting of the ASA on October 27-30, 2010 in Victoria, British Columbia. The winner will be encouraged but not be required to attend the meeting. The prize may not be awarded if, in the opinion of the judges, no nomination of sufficient merit and appropriateness is received.

Submissions should be directed to Dabney Townsend, ASA Secretary/Treasurer, at P. O. Box 915, Pooler, GA 31322 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The nominated article or book must be submitted in full. Electronic submissions are acceptable, if available, in PDF format replicating the original publication.

For more information: http://www.aesthetics-online.org/