There has been considerable progress in our understanding of dystonia over the last century. Growing recognition of dystonia has enhanced awareness of its diverse motor phenomenology and brought attention to the importance that nonmotor features may play in this disorder, once considered to be purely motor. Using the latest technologies in human genetics, new genetic links are being discovered at an ever-quickening pace and expanding our knowledge of the disorder's complex pathogenesis. Furthermore, as we gain clearer insight into the pathophysiology of dystonia and an appreciation of the involvement of dysfunction outside the basal ganglia, dystonia has been increasingly viewed as a network disorder. Here we briefly discuss some of the recent noteworthy advances.