Lori Woods-Gay

Lori comes from a diverse background of artistic, academic, and administrative experience.

As a competitor, she was a US Championship Finalist in Theater Arts with partner Rufus Dustin, New England Professional Champion and US Finalist in American Style with partner David Rosinski, US pro/am Theatre Arts, American Style Smooth and Grand Champion with husband John Gay. She was also invited to and danced in the prestigious Exhibition in Blackpool England.

Lori parlayed her success on the dance floor into a long career, which includes top teacher at numerous Championship events, World Class Judge and Examiner. She spent considerable time studying in England with the legendary Elizabeth Romain and is one of very few Imperial members who hold a Fellowship degree in all five branches of dance. She is passionate about using dance technique to enrich the quality of dance on a practical level, and she authors articles on this topic in her Technique Diva column of Dance Beat.

She is proud to have been trained and mentored by USISTD greats such as Fran Rogers, Julius Kaiser, Dagmar Jarvel, and Roy Mavor whose example, along with Examiners Peter Billet and Jim Donaghey, inspired her to become an ISTD Examiner.

As an administrator, Lori owned a Fred Astaire studio and was an Examiner and Member of the Fred Astaire National Dance Board. She collaborated with the late John Monte in organizing the U.S. Championships and co-organized one of the earlier NDCA Competitions, the Boston Bicentennial, in 1975. She spent 8 years on the Executive Committee of the National Dance Council of America and recently served as President of the USISTD. She is currently on the Invigilation Committee and the Credential and Education Committee for the NDCA.