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Charlotte York Irey, pioneer of dance at 精品SM在线影片, dies at 98

More than two decades after she had almost single-handedly established the first degree program in dance at the 精品SM在线影片, Charlotte York Irey attended the dedication of the new theater named in her honor.

She felt good about her work at CU 鈥� establishing the first BA degree in dance in 1963, followed by an MA program in 1969; separating the program from the physical education department and guiding its merger with the theater department; receiving the university鈥檚 prestigious Robert L. Stearns Award.

But she wanted everyone to know that she鈥檇 always keep a watchful eye on her creation.

鈥淚 think the faculty we have now will make things happen,鈥� she told The Rocky Mountain News in 1984. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛, I鈥檒l haunt them.鈥�

But Irey knew that wouldn鈥檛 be necessary long before she died on Jan. 2 in Boulder at age 98: has not only thrived, but also expanded, attracted top faculty and earned a stellar reputation.

鈥淪he set her goals, determined to have a dance program. I鈥檓 so glad she did, because there were a lot of us who saw that P.E. just did not go together with dance,鈥� says Jamie Redmond, 73, the first person to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in dance from 精品SM在线影片, in 1964. 鈥淪he started it, and it鈥檚 grown tremendously. It鈥檚 really taken off and that鈥檚 an excellent thing.鈥�

Irey was born April 29, 1918, to Charles William and Annie Charlotte Upsher York in Oklahoma City. She married Eugene Floyd Irey on June 10, 1942, and they had a daughter, Gail.

She studied with Mary Wigman, a pioneer of expressionist dance, in Germany in 1935. She received a bachelor鈥檚 degree five years later from the University of Wisconsin, the first American university to offer a degree in dance.

She went on to study with 鈥渢he big four鈥� of modern dance, Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, at Vermont鈥檚 Washington School of Dance in 1941. She was an instructor of dance at Stephens College in Missouri from 1940-43. She was the author of one book, with Frances Bascom, 鈥淐ostume Cues,鈥� published in 1952.

Irey came to 精品SM在线影片 in 1945 and led the dance program from the time of its formation in 1963 until she retired in 1988. Besides the Stearns Award, she was named a Living Legend of Dance in Colorado in 2005, and received the Thomas Jefferson Award from 精品SM在线影片.

When she arrived, dance classes were held in the 鈥渨omen鈥檚 gym.鈥� After the BA was established, the program moved to The Armory on University Boulevard, and eventually to the site of the old St. Gertrude鈥檚 Academy on Aurora Avenue, which was badly damaged in a 1980 fire.

鈥淭he move to the Armory gave us the first taste of being separated from physical education,鈥� Irey recalled on her 80^th birthday. 鈥淭he move to the academy gave us the first secure feeling that we were finally being recognized as an art form. And then it burned down! We wondered if the administration would just let us fall by the wayside.鈥�

On the contrary, both the physical-education and theater departments made room for faculty and classes. Four years later, the Department of Theatre and Dance opened a new wing in the old library building, and dedicated the 150-seat Charlotte Irey Dance Theatre, now used for both theater and dance productions.

But Irey also contributed to the program in ways that can鈥檛 be measured in square footage or faculty numbers.

鈥淭he biggest thing for me with Charlotte is that she is the one who shaped a culture of both rigor and compassion in our department, encouraging everyone to go beyond ourselves and function as a community,鈥� says Associate Professor of Dance Erika Randall, who recently was chosen by the faculty to become the new chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

鈥淔or Charlotte it was not enough to stay with the status quo. We needed to keep building, developing, deepening and diversifying, and that鈥檚 an attitude we have maintained.鈥�

Irey鈥檚 pioneering spirit lives on through the program she created, says Toby Hankin, emeritus professor of dance, who came to 精品SM在线影片 in 1981, 鈥渨hen electric typewriters were cutting edge 鈥� and we printed our course outlines on hand-cranked mimeograph machines.鈥�

鈥淒ance as a discipline was not widely acknowledged back then. Charlotte was among a group of vibrant women of endless stamina and devotion who fought for the place of dance in听the academy听鈥斕齨ot simply as another sport, but as a听body of knowledge with a contribution to make to the study of the arts and humanities and to the life of the university,鈥� Hankin says.

鈥淗er spirit and vision are woven into the fabric of the dance program as it exists today听鈥� a vital, creative, and collaborative community听鈥斕齛 place that thousands of students and faculty over the years have experienced as home.鈥�

Former dance faculty member Nancy McElroy recalls that one of Irey鈥檚 favorite sayings was, 鈥淭o dance is to live!鈥澨�

鈥淪he was passionate about the form,鈥� Randall says, 鈥渘ot just for what it did for people in their careers, but what it did for them as human beings.鈥�

Charlotte York Irey was a member of the National Dance Association, where she was president from 1975-76, named Scholar of Year for 1982-83 and a Heritage honoree in 1990. She also was a founding member of the Council of Dance Administrators and a member of the Alliance for Health, American College Dance Festival, Congress Dance Research and American Dance Guild.

Services are pending.

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