SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 4, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Joan Woodbury, who in 1964 co-founded the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company with Shirley Ririe, has died at age 96.
“Ririe-Woodbury mourns the recent loss of our own Joan Woodbury,” says a statement issued by the modern company on Facebook. “The company’s co-founder passed away this week after a brief illness.
“The dancers, staff, and Board of Trustees are all saddened by the loss of this great titan of modern dance. Joan Woodbury, through over 60 years of tireless dedication, was responsible for much of our art form’s impact in Utah, nationally, and internationally.
“The company is coordinating with the Woodbury family at this time to honor their wishes in celebrating Joan’s life and legacy,” the news release says. “Please stay tuned for additional information on plans to commemorate the life of an inspiring leader, dance pioneer, and dedicated mother.”
Woodbury’s company biography says she was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and studied as the first Fulbright Scholar in dance with Mary Wigman in Berlin. She was a professor of modern dance at the University of Utah where she taught for 47 years.
“Joan has choreographed over 100 works in her career and has danced and/or taught workshops and master classes throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Portugal, South Africa, Slovenia, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, France, England, Ireland, and Italy,” the biography says.
Besides her many national and international accolades, Woodbury was honored with a Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce Honors in the Arts Award, Distinguished Alumni Awards from Southern Utah University and an Honorary Alumni Award from the University of Utah.
She also received the Utah Governor’s Award in the Art and the Cathedral of the Madeleine Award. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Southern Utah University and an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of Utah.
The Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company statement ends with a quote from Woodbury:
“It was through movement that I understood life.”
