10/22/2026
Dear Dance Division Faculty, Staff, and Students,
I am writing to let you know that retired Dance Division Staff Musician Keith Fleming passed away from natural causes on October 2, 2026.
Keith was an integral part of the Dance Division for twenty years from 2000 to 2020 and a key mentor to many successful dance musicians, including our current Staff Musician Brittany Padilla. (Personally, as a new faculty member in 2007, he was also a great support in the development of my own dance technique class and also composed music for several works I created on students.)
Last week Brittany and I were able to meet with Keith’s sister Dawn, who was committed to ensuring that Keith’s extensive collection of musical instruments found its way to the Dance Division and into the hands of musicians who could appreciate it and put it to good use!
We will be planning a memorial event to remember Keith sometime later this academic year.
In the meantime, if you have anecdotes, pictures or videos of your experiences of Keith, we would love to start collecting them together. Please email them to [email protected] using the subject heading Keith Fleming.
Below is an excerpt from the wonderful obituary that Keith’s sister Dawn Fleming wrote that provides more information about Keith’s life—
“Keith Brian Fleming was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 28, 1953, mother, Anne Figuly Fleming, and father, Robert LaFollette Fleming. The family returned to Cleveland, Ohio before he was one year old.
Although his mom wanted him to be a doctor, Keith found his passion and purpose in being a dance musician. He became a top dance musician for university instruction and performance, including jazz, tap, ballet and contemporary dance. While most dance musicians might play the piano and one or two other instruments, Keith found joy in making music with instruments from around the world and even creating his own instruments from everyday objects. He mentored several successful dance musicians over his lifetime.
Keith graduated with honors from Lakewood High School, in Lakewood, Ohio, in 1971. He got a perfect score on the math portion of the SATs, and he received a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago. After two years at U of C, Keith transferred to Kenyon College, in Kenyon, Ohio, where he received a bachelor’s degree in music. He began working on a master’s degree at The Ohio State University but left higher education when he discovered his exuberant love for being a dance musician. He moved to San Francisco to hang out with musicians and attend the City College of San Francisco. He lived in Seattle and worked on the boats, and he spent some time in Chicago. Everywhere he went, he surrounded himself with dancers and musicians.
His unrelenting love for dancers and music eventually led to being hired as an adjunct musician for the Dance Department at Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, where he worked from 1985 to 1999. After 14 years at Denison, Keith was hired by the University of Utah, School of Dance. Keith loved Salt Lake City, but he jumped at the chance to work at Texas Women's University, when Mary Williford-Shade offered him a position. He thrived at TWU from the year 2000 until his retirement 20 years later.
Keith belonged to the Guild of Musicians in Dance and in the Letter of Instructions attached to his Will, he wrote, "Loved baseball, great games (chess, bridge), cooking and beauty. Thirty years as a dance musician. Honored to work with choreographers and dance instructors throughout the U.S.”"
Keith was a larger than life, one-of-a-kind character and he will be missed!
- Jordan
