Judith R. Woodruff
The East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Alumni Association recently announced the 2008 recipients of the annual Alumni Awards. From the area's dance community, Judith R. Woodruff received an Award of Honor.
Woodruff graduated from ETSU with her M.A. in physical education in 1983 and holds a B.A. in art history from the University of Michigan.
She has taught dance since 1980 at ETSU, where she cofounded the Mountain Movers Dance Company. She also taught at the Kingsport Guild of Ballet (now Kingsport Ballet), Johnson City's Holloway Dancing School, and Middlebury (Vt.)
College.
A guest artist for many studios, companies and institutions, her choreography has been commissioned by a variety of schools and dance companies. Woodruff was executive director of the Tennessee Association of Dance (TAD) from 1988-2007, providing management and leadership to the organization that significantly increased its membership, tripled its budget, and led to the establishment of Tennessee Board of Education-approved K-12 curriculum guidelines in dance for public schools.
She has served TAD as a board member and held leadership positions in other organizations, including the Tennessee Alliance for Arts Education, Tennesseans for the Arts, State of Franklin Dance Alliance, Johnson City Area Arts Council, and Kingsport Ballet.
Woodruff's previous honors include the Tennessee Governor's Award for Arts Leadership in 2005, the JCAAC's Outstanding Arts Contribution Award, TAD's Margaret Martin Award for Distinguished Service to the field of dance, and ETSU's first Recognition Award for Non-Regular Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.
