Price Boday, Mary | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Price Boday, Mary

Historical Note: Mary Price Boday is a dancer and member of the Cherokee Nation. She received her bachelors of fine arts from the University of Oklahoma in 1968. After earning her masters in drama from the University of Oklahoma in 1970, she became a ballet instructor in Germany and Austria. Returning to the states in 1976, she joined the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and became a co-founder of the National Academy of Dance. She held these roles until 1979. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Boday served as ballet instructor for many schools. In 1994 she returned to Central Illinois, serving as an assistant professor at Bradley University and becoming the artistic director of the Peoria Ballet. From 1999 to 2005, Boday led the Illinois Ballet and Central Illinois Dance School.