DeFrantz's publications contribute to the literature on African American dance history and practice. The edited anthology, Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance (University of Wisconsin Press, 2002) received a CHOICE award for outstanding academic publication, as well as the 2003 Errol Hill Award presented by the American Society for Theater Research.

Among recent work, DeFrantz published a piece on translocation and tap dance in the journal Discourses in Dance. The essay is accessible here. His essay Black Beat Made Visible is here.