This scoping study was undertaken to enable AHDS Performing Arts to better serve the large and diverse Performing Arts community in UK Higher Education. It considers the current state of play in research, teaching and learning, and how HE communities relate to communities of practice in the Performing and Media Arts both in and outside the UK’s HE institutions. AHDS Performing Arts presents research detailing how these communities create and exploit digital resources and examines how their needs and desires for the future can be met. This study considers the wider research issues affecting the digital representation of Performing Arts and concludes with recommendations for the future development of high quality resource delivery for the Performing Arts.

AHDS Performing Arts supports research, learning and teaching with high quality and dependable digital resources related to music, dance, theatre, radio, film, television, and performance. It is part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service, a UK national service aiding the discovery, creation and preservation of digital resources in and for research, teaching and learning in the arts and humanities.