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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury have a lot to celebrate. Not only have their efforts helped the University of Utah become one of the top universities in the nation at which to study dance, but this year the professional dance company they created, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, is celebrating its 45th anniversary.
Shirley and Joan began dancing together in 1952. The late Elizabeth (Betty) Hayes, director of modern dance at the U, first introduced them to each other. Betty had recruited Joan to teach on her small but growing faculty. After Shirley returned to Utah following her graduate study at New York University and was teaching at BYU, Betty introduced her to Joan. The rest, as they say, is history.
Joan and Shirley hit it off and later convinced the university president to allow them to share Joan's full-time position. The modern dance program began to flourish under their tutelage. The number of student performances grew to such a level that they realized they needed an outlet for their own dance aspirations. The result was Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, which premiered at Kingsbury Hall in 1964.
Today, the company consisting of six dancers is located in downtown Salt Lake City. Its season comprises four different shows, as well as national and international touring. The company offers residencies at Utah elementary schools and workshops for aspiring students. Ririe-Woodbury is known as a powerful force in the development of new dancers and is recognized for its long-standing dance education programs throughout the United States. It is also the only company, in collaboration with the Nikolais/Louis Dance Foundation, to perform an entire evening of dances by modern dance pioneer Alwin Nikolais, a close friend and colleague of Joan and Shirley.
From the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company's 1964 debut to the present, Shirley, Joan and their dancers have collected an abundance of accolades as choreographers, performers and educators. Here's to wishing Ririe-Woodbury another 45 successful years!
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company 138 W. Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84101 801-297-4241
