On May 12, 2026, the beloved, spitfire ballet teacher Judy Fielman Rice passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65. Many of Rice’s current and former students flooded social media with memories of their favorite “Judy-isms,” funny anecdotes, and unforgettable tendu combinations. She leaves behind a positive legacy centered in her joyful approach to ballet.
Rice was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on February 28, 1961. She fell in love with ballet as a child and went on to study at the National Ballet School of Canada. She performed widely with the Joffrey Ballet, the now-defunct American Ballet Comedy, and The National Tap Dance Company of Canada. She also worked in television, with credits including “Fame,” “All My Children,” “The Great American Dance Challenge,” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” where she danced a slapstick pas de deux. Rice collaborated with Tyce Diorio for his choreography on Season 9 of “So You Think You Can Dance,” and was a private ballet coach for actresses Katie Holmes and Amy Adams.
Rice began teaching early in her performing career, and it became a calling. In 1990 she joined the faculty of University of Michigan, teaching ballet for both departments of dance and musical theater. “Judy was a human generator with enough energy to power the entire building,” says UM professor emeritus Peter Sparling, who was the school’s dance-department chair when Rice stepped into academia. “Her inherent passion empowered students for over three decades.”
While Rice’s commitment to technical rigor laid the foundation for her teaching, she was sincerely invested in her students as human beings. She took pride in teaching UM’s first-year ballet classes, where she treated advanced ballet students and new-to-ballet students with equal respect. She encouraged them to care for their bodies and prioritize their mental health. And she taught professionalism both on and off the stage, touting the importance of understudying roles and learning the names of theater-crew members.
Rice was a networker, constantly making inroads for her pupils. Many former students cite Rice’s support with helping them find their paths, including Brooke Taylor, now a dancer in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. “Judy was influential in my Broadway career,” Taylor said in a recent Dance Teacher interview. “I felt like I didn’t fit in when I came to UMich, and Judy was the one who got me enrolled in a musical-theater-styles course.”
Beyond UM, Rice taught for over 40 years at many schools, including The Joffrey Ballet School, Joffrey Midwest, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, Pace University, and Steps on Broadway. An extremely musical instructor, Rice developed a line of ballet class CDs with accompanist Paul Lewis and producer Rob Martens.
As her teaching career developed, Rice became a sought-after adjudicator at competitions and a master teacher and teacher trainer at conventions. That further broadened her reach, allowing her to act as an ambassador and recruiter for dance in higher education. Rice graced the September 2013 cover of Dance Teacher in an article titled “Ballerina in a Barefoot World: Judy Rice Makes a Case for Comp Kids in College.” This past year, she partnered with MSA Agency to develop a first-of-its-kind commercial dance course at UM, with the semester culminating in an agency audition. “This partnership brought Judy so much joy,” says MSA education agent Tina Oleff, who trained with Rice as a student. “We had already begun planning for the fall.”
I am grateful to have studied ballet with Judy during my MFA program at UM. I was returning to ballet classes—with students 15 years younger than me!—after having two children and taking a six-year hiatus from my dance career. Judy bolstered me with encouragement and humor. Later, we became colleagues, and I assisted her in directing several dance concerts at the university. I absorbed from her the power of keeping it simple and infusing focused work with laughter. As she did for so many other students, Judy became a cheerleader in my corner.
A celebration of Judy Rice’s life and legacy is planned for September 4, 2026, at The Power Center for the Performing Arts at University of Michigan. — Jen Peters
