Help Us Launch The Dianne Walker Foundation
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Help us launch the Dianne Walker Foundation for the Preservation, Restoration, and Documentation of Tap Dance
ABOUT THE DIANNE WALKER FOUNDATION
Mission Statement:
We are dedicated to preserving the oral, written, and performance history of tap dance—focusing particularly on the life's work of Dianne Walker and black dancers whose lives and legacies have not been fully acknowledged.
It is for this reason that we title the foundation under the name of Dianne Walker—tap dancer, soloist, teacher, choreographer, director, and storyteller and griot of tap dance—whose four-decade career has championed the voices of dancers young and old and who has imparted to them the sacredness of the dance.
WHO WE ARE
For the past year, a small team has come together at Dianne's request and we've been meeting with Dianne regularly via Zoom on a volunteer basis to help lay the groundwork for this non-profit organization. Our team currently consists of Brenna Kuhn, Lindsay Palinsky, Jessie Sawyers, and Lia Spirka. We, like so many of you, have been profoundly impacted by Dianne and are eager to help honor her lifetime of contributions and her vision through the creation of the Dianne Walker Foundation.
WHY THIS FUNDRAISER?
At this point in our planning with Dianne, we have acquired a business license and now we need access to the financial resources to hire professionals who can help complete the next steps of getting the Dianne Walker Foundation formally established as a non-profit organization, in addition to getting a website built and launching the Foundation's first public offerings.
HOW FUNDS WILL BE USED
(1) Operational startup costs to formalize the foundation
This includes and is not limited to: professional fees for legal, accounting, web development and other operational expenses; finalizing the non-profit status
(2) Creation of the Leon Collins Institute
To produce the inaugural in-person educational summit for teaching the Leon Collins body of work
- This body of work is examined and practiced through Leon's protégé Dianne Walker, the world’s ambassador of tap dance, who travels the world teaching Leon’s routines, which are the foundation of tap discipline.
- The work of Leon Collins - rooted in the art of tap dance, includes his core of acclaimed teachings. The rhythms of these four-chorus routines are beautifully and seamlessly joined musically. All can be danced to jazz standards, and they become the foundation of a dancer’s “tap alphabet” to propel professional tap dancers as well as start the journey of those who just put on tap shoes. This incredible work will further develop dancers’ technical prowess, expand their choreographic lens, and move dancers to a deeper understanding of working with musicians. This level of insight into tap dance supports complex, innovative and clearly articulated choreography.
FUTURE PROGRAMMING
As the Dianne Walker Foundation grows, here are some examples of how we will expand our programming.
(1) Archival Documentation
Beginning with capturing the work of legendary dancer Leon Collins
(2) Historic Choreography Program
Defining, preserving and teaching the work of Dianne Walker and tap dance legends with whom Dianne has worked throughout her career.
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DIANNE'S BIOGRAPHY
Dianne “Lady Di” Walker, a pioneer in tap dancing’s resurgence, has a 45-year career spanning Broadway, Television, Film and International Jazz Concerts and Tap Festivals. Savion Glover and his contemporaries affectionately call her, “Aunt Dianne,” acknowledging her unique role as mentor, teacher and confidante. Dianne performed in both the original Paris Production of Black and Blue as well as the Broadway Production, where she was a featured dancer, Dance Captain and Assistant to the Directors. Film credits include the movie Tap, the PBS special, Great Performances: Tap Dance in America, JUBA! (WTTW), and Songs Unwritten. Dianne has been dubbed the “Ella Fitzgerald” of Tap Dance.
For two years, Dianne directed the Tap Program at Jacob’s Pillow and is presently Artistic Advisor to the Program. Holding a Master’s degree in Education, Dianne has taught at numerous universities including Harvard, MIT, Wesleyan, Bates, UCLA, and Williams College. Dianne is a participant on many educational task forces, and sits on numerous boards throughout the dance community. In 1998, Dianne received the “Living Treasure in American Dance” Award from Oklahoma City University, The Flo-Bert Award (NYC), The Hoofers Award (NYC), The Gregory Hines Humanitarian Award (Los Angeles), and was the 2008 USA Rose Fellow. Most recently, Dianne received the prestigious Dance Magazine Award, presented to her at the Alvin Ailey School in New York, adding to a long line of awards and lifetime tributes recognizing her contribution to the art form and excellence in teaching. Grant awards include The National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Jacobs Pillow, The New England Foundation for the Arts, and American Masterpieces Program.
Dianne has been generously mentored by many musicians and Tap Dance legends throughout her career, notably Leon Collins and Jimmy Slyde. Dianne has worked with Savion Glover, Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown, Gregory Hines, Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Tina Pratt, Bunny Briggs, Barry Harris, Max Roach, Alan Dawson, Major Holley, Paul Arslanian, Andy McGhee, John Lockwood, Ruth Brown, Nicholas Brothers, Peg Leg Bates, Arthur Duncan and many others. Leon Collins passed away in 1985, leaving Dianne to continue as one of the Directors of his school in Boston. It is with a great sense of pride that Dianne continues to share this rich legacy with her students.
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Cover photo by: Steven Peterson
Organizer
Dianne Walker
Organizer
Boston, MA