The Dianne Walker Foundation

The Dianne Walker Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit for the Preservation, Restoration, and Documentation of Tap Dance

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.

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, Tasha Lawson, 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.

To produce the inaugural in-person educational summit for teaching the Leon Collins body of work

As the Dianne Walker Foundation grows, here are some examples of how we will expand our programming.

Beginning with capturing the work of legendary dancer Leon Collins

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 “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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