The Art of American Dance was the first major traveling exhibition to explore American visual art related to the many forms of dance. This exhibition featured 90 works, ranging from realistic to abstract, by iconic and wide-ranging artists such as John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Robert Henri, William Merritt Chase, Nick Cave, and Faith Ringgold.

The Art of American Dance examined dance-inspired paintings, prints, sculptures, and photographs from the 1830s to the recent past—from dance in Native American cultures to ballroom dancing, to Jitterbug, swing, modern dance, and others. Exploring the variety of ways Americans embrace dance as part of everyday life, as well as the diverse forms of professional dance, including burlesque, flamenco, and classical ballet, the exhibition highlighted the central place dance has held in American culture and in the imagination of American artists.

Artists did not merely represent dance; they were inspired by dance to think about how Americans move through space, share culture, and express themselves through movement.