Cadence Whittier

1977 - 2021

Cadence Whittier
July 2, 1977 - October 10, 2021
Geneva, New York - Cadence Joy Whittier, 44, passed from this life on October 10, 2021 after a courageous five year battle against metastatic breast cancer. She was raised by her parents, Michael and Diane Whittier in Shawnee, Kansas where she graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest H.S. in 1995. She received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Utah where she met her husband Dustin Cutler. They were married June 2, 2001 at Powell Gardens.
For two decades, Cadence was a Professor in the Dance Department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York where she touched the lives of thousands of students, colleagues and friends through her teaching, performance artistry, choreography and activism in the greater Finger Lakes community. Cadence was one of the youngest people to be granted tenure at the colleges. In 2016 she was awarded the Faculty Prize for Teaching, and in 2019 she was awarded the Engaged Faculty Member of the year. Also in 2019 she was the recipient of the William R. Kenan Endowed Professorship. Cadence was a co-director and core faculty member of Integrated Movement Studies, an organization that offers national and international training in Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals. She is also the author of an innovative book, Creative Ballet Teaching: Technique and Artistry for the 21st Century Ballet Dancer (Routledge,2018).
Cadence truly enjoyed the beauty of nature. During her lifetime, she liked to hike, snow ski, kayak and bicycle. She and Dustin were avid backpackers and their many adventures took them hiking through the mountain west, Hawaii, Canada, New Zealand and their beloved Utah. They also visited countries on four different continents. At home in Geneva, New York, she loved the home that she and Dustin renovated which overlooks Lake Seneca. She found joy in creating a large, lovely garden and in surrounding herself with art created by friends, family and pieces collected on her travels. She is survived by her husband, her parents, her brother Casey and his family as well as by many aunts, uncles and cousins. Cadence cherished her family and her many close friends who were like her second family. Her smile, her laughter, her intelligence and her kindness will be greatly missed by all who her knew her. A Memorial will be held at a later, safer time. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that you send contributions to Metavivor.org.