Spanish dancer Carmen Dauset "Carmencita" arrived in New York in 1889 and quickly became a sensation in New York society. She was painted by both William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargeant, and in 1894, she became the first woman and the first dancer to be filmed by Thomas Edison. By the early decades of the 20th century great Spanish and flamenco dancers were performing in the U.S., and some, such as the Cansinos and Aurora Arriaza, settled in the U.S. as teachers and performers. For this Dance Historian Is In, Carlota Santana and K. Meira Goldberg present images and video footage surveying the early years of Spanish dance through the present day.

For more than 10 years, The Dance Historian Is In at the Library for the Performing Arts has highlighted a diverse range of dancers and choreographers across history. This series began when archivist and historian David Vaughan started volunteering at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Vaughan began a monthly program showing his favorite dance films from the Division's extensive collection, through which he unearthed many treasures, and helped acquire even more. Vaughan continued the series until the end of his life. Today, we honor his memory and work by inviting dance historians from all over the world each month to carry on the tradition of highlighting dance history through the Dance Division's moving image collection.