Janet Lansdale was Head of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Surrey between 1997 and 2001. She was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Dance Studies, University of Surrey, in April 1992, succeeding the first European full Professor of Dance Studies, June Layson. Following her PhD (the first in Dance in the UK) she undertook post-doctoral research first at the University of Leeds (funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation) and then at the University of Surrey, funded by a major grant from the Leverhulme Trust, the first substantial full time post-doctoral research posts ever to be created in dance in the UK (1980-8. Subsequently she moved to an academic post to lead the postgraduate developments as MA Course Director, and later took on responsibility for research students (1988-92). She was a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars Board of Directors (USA) (1996-99; 1999-2001), having been an Executive Committee member of the Society for Dance Research (UK) from its inception in 1982 until 1996. She held a three month visiting Professorship at the University of California (Riverside) in 1997. Professor Lansdale was a member of the Board of the Arts and Humanities Research Board when it was first established, representing all the performing arts; was a member of its Research Committee recommending research awards across the Arts and Humanities, and Chair of the Performing Arts Research panel (1998-2001).