Joan Woodbury — In Memoriam

Much-loved Nikolais-Louis family follower and Utah dance icon, Joan Woodbury, died on November 1. She was 96. Her artistic partner Shirley Ririe co-founded the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1964. In recent years the Ririe-Woodbury company has performed Nikolais works under the direction of Alberto (Tito) del Saz. Her long and loyal friendship with the Nikolais-Louis family will not be forgotten. A complete obituary has been printed in the Salt Lake Tribune: Joan Woodbury, legendary pioneer of modern dance in Utah, dies at 96.

Joan actively joined the Nikolais Legacy Events

The Alwin Nikolais Legacy Forum in 2003 at Hunter College
(Click images to expand to full size. Photos by Chip Tilden)

Joan and Gerald Otte introduce the program.
Dorothy Vislocky, Jana Feinman, and Joan
Murray, Joan, Dorothy, and Claudia Gitelman

Of the 2003 Legacy Forum Joan wrote:

During and since the Alwin Nikolais Legacy Forum at Hunter College, I have been struck by the incredible gift that was given to all of us who had the great fortune to have been touched by the genius of Alwin Nikolais. His ability to take us with him on his journeys into the labyrinth and complexity of his thoughts about the creative process, “the unique gesture,” decentralization, immediacy, totality, Total Dance Theater, and of course, “time, shape, space and motion” were inspiring to the point of being almost incomprehensible. And through the wondrous beauty of the works he created, the motion, sounds, lighting and costumes he designed, we all became awe-inspired. Change minds and lives he did. He challenged us to give of the best in us. All of us are richer and somehow bound together because of the greatness and generosity of one single human being, Alwin Nikolais.

Joan Woodbury (left) with Legacy participants
(Click image to expand.)

The Nikolais/Louis Legacy Workshop in 2006 in Salt Lake City

The Nikolais/Louis Legacy Workshop was hosted by the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in collaboration with the Nikolais/Louis Foundation for Dance on July 24–28, 2006, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Participants, including Nikolais alumni, teachers and dance enthusiasts, came from Australia, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, and from 30 states in the USA. Of the event Ruth Grauert wrote:

What an affirmation of dance as art and art as human experience this week has been! This mixed bag of dancers of all ages and sizes, improvising and making dance gave me the best spectator dance experience I have had in a long time. Not just once, but day after day for five glorious days.

The Nikolais Centennial Celebration in Paris in 2011

Following the 2010 Nikolais Centenial, French followers Mark Lawton and Dominique Ribaud secured a grant from the French Ministry of Culture, and with the support of the Centre National de la Danse, to produce a Nikolais Centenial in Paris. They subsequently invited Joan, Murray Louis and Alberto (Tito) del Salz to join them in Paris for several days of teaching. During that time Joan and Tito visited Carolyn Carlson at her home, and they walked to the nearby Père Lachaise cemetery to see Nik’s burial plaque. Joan wrote a summary of the week..

(Click images to expand to full size.)

Joan and Carolyn at Carolyn’s home in Paris
Joan, Carolyn, Dominique, and Tito
Carolyn and Joan at the cemetery

Joan’s Experience with Mary Wigman

In 1955, Joan Woodbury received a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed her to go to Berlin to study with Mary Wigman, the renowned German pioneer in expressionist dance. From this experience came a number of articles she contributed to Bearnstow Journal:

The Wigman Experience
Recounting her arrival in Berlin and the Wigman studio
Christmas Eve 1955
Originally published in Dance Observer, March 1956. A Christmas party in Mary’s home.
Mary Wigman at 70
Originally published in Dance Observer, October 1956. An overview of the life and career of Mary Wigman.
Letters from Mary Wigman
Though Joan never met Mary again after leaving Berlin in 1956, they kept in touch through letters and friends.
An Addendum—Emma Lewis Thomas
An apology to Emma Lewis Thomas for omitting mention of her in Joan’s last article in Dance Observer. Thomas also studied with Wigman during the same year and continued to perform in Wigman‘s company. Emma Lewis Thomas authored My Mary: Personal Reminiscences of Learning from Wigman, originally published on this site in January 2016.

Joan Woodbury Honored among the
Fifteen Most Influential Artists in Utah

On Friday, February 21, 2004, Utah Arts & Museums hosted Utah’s 15: The State’s Most Influential Artists at the Rio Gallery in Salt Lake City. This exhibit is a culmination of the “Utah’s 15” project that began a year ago when the public was asked to nominate artists they believe have influenced the landscape of Utah art and culture.

Joan is in the second row center of the banner. (Click image to enlarge.)

Joan Woodbury: Always in Motion

In 2013, Joan Woodbury was selected by 200 of her peers as one of “Utah’s 15 most influential artists.” Joan Woodbury: Always in Motion” by Laura Durham, was published by Artists of Utah in 2014.