Elizabeth Aldrich is internationally known for her work in dance from the 18th century to the 1950s. She is known particularly for her film choreography, specializing large-scale ballroom scenes from the 1840s through the 1880s as well as social dances from the 1920s through the 1950s. Her work has appeared in several films directed by James Ivory, including Quartet (1981, starring Maggie Smith); The Remains of the Day (1993, starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins); Jefferson in Paris (1992, starring Nick Nolte); and Surviving Picasso (1996, starring Anthony Hopkins). Other films include The Age of Innocence (1994, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Michele Pfeiffer), directed by Martin Scorsese; Washington Square (1997, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh), directed by Agnieszka Holland; and Haunted Mansion (2005, starring Eddie Murphy), directed by Rob Minkoff. As well as choreography, she has presented at numerous scholarly conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia.

During her tenure as Curator of Dance, Library of Congress Aldrich created numerous government documents related to the dance collections at the Library, generated digital content, and curated three exhibitions, which were exhibited at the Library of Congress as well as at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: 50 Years Cultural Ambassador to the World (2008); Serge Diaghilev and His World: A Centennial Celebration of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, 1909-1929 (2009); and two exhibitions co-curated with historian Victoria Phillips, Politics and the Dancing Body (2012) and American Ballet Theatre: Touring the Globe for 75 Years (2013). (All exhibitions are available online at https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/)

After retiring from the Library of Congress in 2012, she spent a semester as Visiting Professor of Dance at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and subsequently moved to the coast of Chile, 2014-2019. In 2019, Aldrich relocated with her husband, Brian Olson and their Havanese dog, Lulu to Gold Canyon, Arizona and has since devoted her time to the research and completion of a book on Cold War food (forthcoming 2023).