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Tap dance artist Dianne Walker to perform, speak at MIT April 2
Dianne Walker
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For Immediate Release: March 18, 2005
Contact:
Mary Haller
Director of Arts Communication
MIT Office of the Arts
20 Ames St., Rm E15-205
Cambridge, MA 02139
e-mail haller@media.mit.edu
617-253-4006
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Cambridge, MA... Dianne Walker, one of the few internationally recognized women in the field of
tap dance, will present a performance and interview lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on
Saturday, April 2 at 11 a.m. in Kresge Auditorium (48 Massachusetts Ave). Associate Professor Thomas DeFrantz,
also a tap dancer and choreographer, will conduct the interview. A reception will follow.
Artist-in-residence at MIT from March 1-April 2, Walker is teaching and creating movement with the MIT
Dance Theater Ensemble. For over 25 years, as a pioneer in the resurgence of tap, Walker’s career has
taken her to Broadway, television, theater, numerous universities and jazz performance venues throughout the
world.
Known to her mentors and peers as “Lady Di” for her personal style and elegance as a performer,
Walker is also celebrated for her eloquent and passionate commitment to the art of tap dance. She was a featured
dancer in the movie "Tap" with Gregory Hines and in the original Paris production of “Black
and Blue.” She has had the honor of being the only female dancer in the prestigious “Hoofers
Line” with Lon Chaney, Jimmy Slyde, Chuck Green and Bunny Briggs.
In 1996 Walker represented the United States as an adjudicator for the world Tap Dance Championships in
Dresden, Germany. In Boston, 1997, she received the "Tapestry Award" for excellence in teaching.
In 1998, she became the youngest dancer and first woman to receive the Living Treasure in American Dance Award
from Oklahoma City University. In St. Louis 2000, she received the Savion Glover Award for "Keeping
the Beat Alive." On May 25, 2003, she received the Flo-Bert Award for Lifetime Achievement, presented by the
New York Committee To Celebrate National Tap Dance Day.
In 2004, Walker received the Hoofers Award from Tap City New York City and in Los Angeles, she received an award
in memory of Gregory Hines. Also in 2004, Jason Samuels Smith of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy presented her with
the Humanitarian Award.
Walker currently lives in Boston and was appointed by the governor to a seat on the Board of the Massachusetts
Cultural Council. She continues her work as a performer, master teacher and dance educator/consultant and recently
completed a tour with Savion Glover and Jimmy Slyde.
The event is co-sponsored by the MIT Office of the Arts, MIT Program in Women's Studies, and the MIT Music and
Theater Arts Section. For more information, call 617-253-2341.
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