Joe Nash (1919-2005) was a self-taught dancer and prominent historian of African-American dance history. Growing up in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, Nash was inspired by the black arts movement. After returning from his World War II military service, he immersed himself in a self-directed study of dance literature and photography. In the late 1940s and '50s, Nash performed on Broadway and toured with influential modern dance artists such as Pearl Primus and Donald McKayle. He also began teaching and lecturing on dance history in Philadelphia and New York. Nash was a consultant and lecturer at the American Dance Festival from the 1990s until his death in 2005. He was widely considered one of the leading experts on the role of African-Americans in the development of modern dance. During his life, Nash donated materials from his vast archival collection to the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, The Arthur Hall Collection in Philadelphia, Florida A&M University, the American Dance Festival, and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Ohio.