Dianne Walker

The press has dubbed her "America's First Lady of Tap" and "The Ella Fitzgerald of Tap." Savion Glover and his contemporaries call her "Aunt Dianne" in acknowledgment of her unique place as mentor, teacher and confidante. And in appreciation of her personal style and elegance as a performer, as well as her eloquent and passionate commitment to the art of Tap Dance, her peers and mentors always refer to her as "Lady Di."
On May 25, 2003, she received the Flo-Bert Award for Lifetime Achievement, presented to her by the New York Committee To Celebrate National Tap Dance Day. In 1998 she became the youngest dancer and first woman to receive the "Living Treasure in American Dance Award" from the Oklahoma City University. In St. Louis, she received the "Savion Glover Award for Keeping the Beat Alive" and in Boston she was presented with the "Tapestry Award", for excellence in teaching.
She is a frequent guest artist at Tap Festivals around the world including Italy, Germany, Prague, Finland, Chicago, St. Louis, Colorado, Portland, Minneapolis, Montreal, Atlanta, Texas, Vancouver and numerous other cities. Often seen in jazz clubs around the country, her most memorable was an evening of jazz at the Rainbow Room in New York City with Ruth Brown, Sir Roland Hanna, Al McKibbon and Grady Tate. Jazz Festival appearances include North Sea (The Hague), Pouri (Europe), Chicago and Montreal with Gregory Hines and Jimmy Slyde. She was featured with Jimmy Slyde and Savion Glover in a thirteen city Dance Umbrella tour, entitled "Fascinating Rhythms". She has also appeared at the Smithsonian honoring such distinguished artists as Cholly Atkins and Jeni LeGon. In 2001, she completed a year long tour with Savion Glover's Concert Show, entitled "Footnotes," with Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown, and Cartier Williams.
Ms. Walker, who holds a Master's degree in Education, has taught at Harvard, Williams College, the University of Michigan, UCLA, and on numerous other campuses. She has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jacobs Pillow, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the New England Foundation for the arts. 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 l996.
Dance training began in Boston with Mildred Kennedy-Bradic. She began her professional career in l979 under the watchful eye of her mentor, Leon Collins. After his death, she continued to direct his school in Boston/Brookline until 1997. The Slyde Brothers, Jimmy "Sir Slyde" Mitchell and Jimmy Slyde, have also contributed enormously to her dance education. She has been influenced and touched by the generosity of the many legendary tap figures with whom she has worked as both performer and choreographer.
Dianne Walker shares her Boston home with her husband, Rodney, and two tap-dancing Bichon Frise's, named Curly and Mo. She is the proud mother of a daughter, Michelle, who sometimes tap dances and a son, Michael, who does not, but has provided her with three exceptional grandsons, Rahjene, Michael Jr. and Nicholas.