Judy Fielman Rice, beloved teacher, mentor, dancer and advocate for the art of ballet, died unexpectedly at the age of 65.
Born Feb. 28, 1961, in Indianapolis, Judy’s extraordinary gift for and deep love of ballet appeared early. At 10 years old, she was accepted into the prestigious National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto, where she lived and trained while completing her academic education and rigorous ballet studies.
Those formative years shaped not only her artistry, but the discipline, lifelong passion for dance, and deep understanding of mentorship that guided the rest of her life.
Judy fulfilled her dream of dancing professionally, including performing with the Joffrey Ballet, National Tap Dance Company of Canada, and American Ballet Comedy, as well as appearing on television in “Fame,” “All My Children,” “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and “The Great American Dance Challenge.”
Alongside pianist Paul Lewis and producer Rob Martens, she co-founded Behind Barres. Judy helped produce 11 albums of ballet class music and released seven educational DVDs, creating music that filled studios across the country and became part of countless dancers’ daily practice.
Judy’s greatest legacy lives in the hundreds of thousands of dancers she taught across every edge of the dance world. She mentored generations of artists, offering meticulous feedback while continually inspiring students through her storytelling. Her youthful spirit followed her into every room, shaping the warmth, curiosity, rigor, and care she brought to teaching.
Featured on the September 2013 cover of Dance Teacher Magazine, Judy spoke often about the importance of keeping joy alive in the studio: “When I see young students start to get a little glazed over, I have them step away from the barre and skip around!”
In 1990, Judy joined the SMTD faculty, where she became a treasured member of the community for more than three decades. She taught in both the Departments of Dance and Musical Theatre, most often working with first-year students, offering an unforgettable first semester foundation of “Judy-isms” that students carried with them throughout their artistic lives.
She was also widely known for her extraordinary ability to “clean” choreography of all styles and was repeatedly entrusted to be the Artistic Director of the Department of Dance’s annual repertory program.
In 2020, she was honored as the inaugural recipient of SMTD’s Teaching Excellence Award. Judy most recently led a groundbreaking collaboration between the Dance Department and MSA Talent Agency’s Education Department, the first partnership of its kind between a college dance program and a talent agency creating a powerful bridge between higher education and the professional commercial dance world.
Beyond the university, Judy was on faculty at Broadway Dance Center in New York City and with numerous dance conventions over the years, while also teaching at hundreds of studios and programs across the country. Judy often said she had “thousands of kids,” a reflection of the fierce care, belief and encouragement she extended to every individual student.
Over decades, she built a vast and deeply meaningful family through dance: one made up of artists, friends, colleagues and former students who carried forward her creativity, humor, resilience and relentless love of ballet.
She is survived by her two siblings, nieces, and nephews, her goddaughters, as well as thousands of cherished friends, dancers, colleagues, mentees and former students whose lives she profoundly impacted.
A celebration of Judy’s life and legacy in Ann Arbor will be on Sept. 4, 2026, at the Power Center for the Performing Arts, 121 Fletcher St., Ann Arbor.
Celebration details in New York will be announced at a later date.
