Joan Stone

Joan Stone, May 12, 1939- Dec. 1, 2025

Thelma Joan Stone, nee Phillips, was born May 12, 1939, in New Haven, Connecticut, to immigrant parents, mother, Frances Chasnoff, of Ukraine and George Phillips (born Faiweuscewitz) of Poland. She is survived by her nephew Michael Phillips and her nieces Cindy Phillips, Cathy Phillips and Lynn Phillips Weiskopf.

Joan studied ballet with Jack Quinn and attended Sarah Lawrence College where she studied modern dance choreography with Bessie Schonberg. Joan graduated college in 1961. She taught elementary school for a year, then attended Columbia Graduate School to study Anthropology. Following her marriage to architect, Harris Stone in 1963, she held a research job in the New Haven City Plan Department, leading to a master's degree in urban planning from Yale University.

In 1966, Joan joined the American In­dependent Movement (AIM), which grew out of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The union of dance and politics created the space Joan needed to rekindle her desire to dance. From 1967 to 1972 Joan choreographed dances with community members, both organizing and inviting citizens to join in the creative process and performance. Joan documented her passion for dance and social consciousness in her posthumously published manuscript, ‘Guerilla Dancer,’ 2026, Anamcara Press LLC. Between 1972 and 1978, Joan created new solo dances, portraits of characters from history, literature and art that became the foundation for group choreography that came with her association with the University of Kansas Dance Company.

Joan moved to Amherst, Massachusetts in 1976, where her husband Harris taught at Hampshire College, before moving to Kansas in 1978 where Harris joined the Architecture faculty at the University of Kansas. There, Joan joined the dance faculty and taught alongside of Janet Hamburg, Willie Lenoir, Mary Halverstadt, Scott Morrow and Linda Muir. Joan succeeded Hamburg as director of the dance division from fall 1997 through spring 2001, during which time the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in dance was approved. When Joan retired, the University of Kansas honored her with the title Professor Emeritus.

In Lawrence, Joan choreographed solo and group performances, worked with students, and led an improvisational dance group called 4,5,6 Speed-Up. After retirement from the Dance program, Joan continued to choreograph and perform solo dances.

Joan is preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Charles Phillips, and her beloved husband, Harris Stone. A Celebration of Life is planned April 26, 2026, from 2:00-4:00 p.m, at Van Go, 715 New Jersey St., Lawrence, KS 66044, (785) 842-3797, in conjunction with the release of her manuscript ‘Guerrilla Dancer.’

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan's name may be made to: Dance Development Fund https://theatredance.ku.edu/dance-development-fund