Doris Hudson de Trujillo, Ririe-Woodbury Alumnus, dance artist and now visual artist.

I have always been a dancer! As a toddler my mother sewed costumes for my sisters and I for the many dance classes that she enrolled us in. While in high school at Sacred Heart Academy, a private Catholic school, in Hamden, Connecticut, my dance teacher recommended I apply to a prestigious dance program at the University of Utah. I took my first ever airplane flight at the age of 17 to Utah and never looked back.

During my senior year, I auditioned with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Once again, I was able to advance my career in dance. The company traveled to many destinations in America (at least 45 weeks per year) and performed internationally.

I graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA degree in Modern Dance and an MFA in Modern Dance from BYU. I and two other dance professors founded a professional dance company, “Contemporary Dance Works”. I have held adjunct positions and artist residencies at Weber State, U of U, BYU and UVU. As a choreographer, my works have been performed in Austin, Texas, NYC, at UVU, SLC and in Madrid and Cordoba Spain. I have presented scholarly papers at conferences in New Mexico, California, Hawaii, Scotland and Czechoslovakia. I was a professor of dance at UVU and retired in 2021 as Department Chair after 20 years.”

Three years ago Doris was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, called Progressive Apraxia of Speech, which has impacted her ability to speak. She since has channeled her artistic energy into her own beautiful, dance inspired, visual art.