Dianne Walker
|
---|
Born
| (
1951-03-08
)
March 8, 1951
(age 73)
Boston
,
Massachusetts
, U.S.
|
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Occupation(s)
| Dancer, choreographer
|
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Years active
| 1979?present
|
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Musical artist
Dianne Walker
(born March 8, 1951), also known as
Lady Di
, is an American
tap dancer
.
[1]
Her thirty-year career spans Broadway, television, film, and international dance concerts. Walker is the artistic director of TapDancin, Inc. in
Boston
,
Massachusetts
.
Career
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]
She began her dance training in Boston with Mildred Kennedy-Bradic and later studied with
Leon Collins
, Jimmy "Sir Slyde" Mitchell, and
Jimmy Slyde
. In 1979, she began a professional dance career. She later performed with Collins & Company
[2]
and became one of the Directors of the Leon Collins Dance Studio, Inc. in
Brookline, Massachusetts
.
She is considered a pioneer in the resurgence of tap dancing.
[1]
The
Boston Herald
has called her "America's First Lady of Tap."
[3]
Prominent contemporary tap dancer
Savion Glover
and his peers affectionately call her "Aunt Dianne"
[
citation needed
]
in acknowledgment of her unique place as a mentor, teacher, and confidante.
She is often seen in jazz clubs and festivals around the US. A memorable appearance was at the Rainbow Room in New York City with
Ruth Brown
, Grady Tate, Al McKibbon, and Sir Roland Hanna. Jazz Festival appearances include North Sea (The Hague), Pouri (throughout Europe),
Chicago Jazz Festival
and
Montreal Jazz Festival
with
Gregory Hines
. Dianne was featured in both the original Paris production and the two year Broadway run of Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli's musical
Black and Blue
. She is also in the PBS production of
Black and Blue
directed by
Robert Altman
. She was the only female to dance in the famed "Hoofers Line" which included
Jimmy Slyde
, Ralph Brown, Buster Brown, Lon Chaney,
Chuck Green
,
Bunny Briggs
, and
Savion Glover
.
While on Broadway, she performed "Memories of You", a soft shoe choreographed by
Cholly Atkins
. She was also Assistant Choreographer and Dance Captain for the show's
Tony Award
winning choreography and recreated choreography for a European tour of
Black and Blue
. She was featured in Fascinating Rhythms, a thirteen-city Dance Umbrella tour with Jimmy Slyde, Savion Glover, and bucket drummers Drummin Too Deep. She has appeared at the Smithsonian on several occasions honoring such distinguished artists as Cholly Atkins and
Jeni Le Gon
, and a special lecture/performance entitled "Women in Tap." She also completed a year-long engagement of
Savion Glover
's Concert Tour, entitled "Footnotes," with
Jimmy Slyde
, Buster Brown, and Cartier Williams.
She is featured in the motion picture
Tap
starring
Gregory Hines
and
Sammy Davis Jr.
, PBS Great Performances' "Tap Dance in America", the documentary
Honi Coles: The Class Act of Tap
, the documentary
Songs Unwritten...Leon Collins
, and most recently as the principal commentator in the PBS release
JUBA
.
Ms. Walker holds a master's degree in education. She has taught at numerous colleges, including Harvard, Williams College, the University of Michigan, and UCLA. She has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council Jacobs Pillow, and the New England Foundation for the arts. She was a participant in the Dance USA Task Force on Dance Education and in 1997 represented the United States as an adjudicator for the World Tap Dance Championships held in Dresden, Germany. She is on the board of several tap dance organizations and was appointed, by the governor of Massachusetts, to a seat on the board of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a post she has held since 1996.
She is quick to recognize her debt to many of the tap legends that have given to her so generously throughout her career, such as
Honi Coles
,
Cholly Atkins
,
Eddie Brown
, the
Nicholas Brothers
,
Peg Leg Bates
,
Steve Condos
,
Henry LeTang
,
Prince Spencer
,
Gregory Hines
,
LaVaughn Robinson
, and many others. Leon Collins died in 1985, leaving Dianne to continue as one of the directors of his school (1982?1995).
Awards
[
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]
In 1997 in
Boston
, she was presented with the Tapestry Award for excellence in teaching from Thelma Goldberg of the Dance Inn in
Lexington, Massachusetts
. In 1998, she became the youngest dancer and first woman to receive the Living Treasure in American Dance Award from
Oklahoma City University
. She received the "Savion Glover Award for Keeping the Beat Alive" in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000. In 2003, she received a
Flo-Bert Award
, presented by the New York Committee To Celebrate National Tap Dance Day, in recognition of her lifetime achievement regarding tap dancing. In 2006, Dianne's lifetime achievements were honored at a luncheon in
Flint, Michigan
. This award ceremony was sponsored by Tapology, Artistic and executive director, Alfred Bruce Bradley and the Mott Foundation. In 2005, she received another lifetime achievement recognition (Rhythm Bound) from director Sas Selford of the Vancouver Tap Dance Society. In 2004, Walker received the Hoofers Award from Tap City NYC and was also presented with an award in Los Angeles, in memory of
Gregory Hines
. That same year she was presented with The Humanitarian Award from
Jason Samuels Smith
of the
Debbie Allen
Dance Academy.
References
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]
External links
[
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]