[2] While at Barnard, she incorporated dance into her studies by working with leaders such as Bird Larson and, through a summer program, Mary Wigman.

[2] Her focus was not on creating technically perfect dancers; instead, she wanted to use dance as a method of exploring oneself and the body.

[3][4] In 1944, Boas partnered with Katherine Dunham in the management of the school, but the relationship didn't last more than a year.

She volunteered at Bellevue Hospital[6] from 1939 to 1943 where she worked in collaboration with Dr. Lauretta Bender to pioneer dance therapy.

Boas died on December 22, 1988, in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, aged 86, having suffered from Alzheimer's disease.