As a new assistant professor in fall 2013, Emily Wilcox accepted a lunch invitation from Liangyu Fu, a University of Michigan librarian she had just met. Fu proposed the idea of working together to create a Chinese dance collection in the library.

A dancer herself and one of the first U.S.-based researchers in the field of Chinese dance studies, Wilcox was overjoyed by the possibility of having a permanent home for the research materials she had collected for nearly 10 years. After lunch, she “danced” all the way back to her office, envisioning that attention would be given to this lesser known field.

Fu was enthusiastic, too. As a new librarian for Chinese studies, she was keen to add uniqueness to the existing collections at the U-M Asia Library, which are well known for comprehensiveness. For a performing arts lover and someone fascinated by preserving ephemeral materials, Fu was thrilled to learn that Chinese dance was an emerging area that merged her interests with Wilcox’s research.

Now, more than three years later, they are showcasing their efforts in creating the U-M Asia Library’s Chinese Dance Collection, the largest in North America. Read the full article on the Global Michigan website. 

Read the Global Michigan Article "Creating a World-Class Chinese Dance Collection"