Rhythm, Body and Soul FEATURED ARTISTS

Dianne "Lady Di" Walker

Dianne “Lady Di” Walker, a pioneer in tap dancing’s resurgence has a 30 year career spanning Broadway, Television, Film and International Jazz Dance Concerts and Festivals. United States Artists has recently announced Ms. Walker as the recipient of the USA Rose Fellow 2008, Dance. Ms. Walker is touring with the show, “The Souls of Our Feet”, produced by Acia Gray, and funded in part by the NEA, American Masterpieces Program. She has been dubbed the “Ella Fitzgerald” ofTap Dance.

Savion Glover and his contemporaries affectionately call her, “Aunt Dianne,” acknowledging her unique role as mentor, teacher and confidante. Ms. Walker holds a Master’s degree in Education, and has taught at Harvard, Williams College, University of Michigan, UCLA, Bates, and Wesleyan. She serves on the board of several tap organizations, and served 10 years on the board of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Grant awards include The National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Jacobs Pillow, and New England Foundation for the Arts.

Dianne received Oklahoma City University’s 1998 “Living Treasure In American Dance Award,” adding to a long line of awards and lifetime tributes recognizing her contribution to the art form and excellence in teaching. She began her dance training in Boston with Mildred Kennedy-Bradic and later, Leon Collins, Jimmy “Sir Slyde” Mitchell and Jimmy Slyde.

In 1979, she began a professional dance career under the watchful eyesof her esteemed mentors. She is grateful to many musicians and tap dance legends that have given to her so generously throughout her career such as Gregory Hines, Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Tina Pratt,Barry Harris, Max Roach, Alan Dawson, Ruth Brown, Nicholas Brothers,Peg Leg Bates, Arthur Duncan and many others. Leon Collins passed away in l985, leaving Dianne to continue as one of the Directors of his school. It is with a great sense of pride that she continues to share this rich legacy with her students. Dianne is Artistic Director of “TapDanZin, Inc.” (Boston), and is currently collaborating with schools in Minneapolis and Tokyo.

Tasha Lawson

Tasha Lawson is the founder and Artistic Director of Tri-Tone Productions, a dance and live-music company. Tri-Tone creates and produces interdisciplinary performance works in the mediums of Body Percussion, Tap, and Contemporary Dance. Its first full length work, “Listen Beyond Your Ears”, debuted in Austin, Texas (June 2010), and the company has since performed at Le Festival International De Danse Encore, Third Coast Rhythm Project and Rhythm at the Regent in Boston. Ms. Lawson's body percussion technique, which transcribes tap vocabulary into body rhythms, is taught at Tri-Tone's annual Tap and Body Rhythms intensive in Vancouver, Canada.

A graduate of Grant MacEwan College’s ‘Dance Teacher Training’ and ‘Dance Performance’ programs, Ms. Lawson continued her studies at Simon Fraser University and in New York and Brazil. Notable influences and inspiration include Dianne Walker, Roxanne Butterfly, Heather Cornell, Acia Gray, Barbara Phillips, Lane Alexander, Max Pollock, Fernando Barba of Barbatuques, Keith Terry, Charlene Tarver, Derrick Grant and Brenda Buffalino.
Ms. Lawson has served as an artist-in-residence for Capilano University, Harbour Dance Center’s Professional Training program, Third Coast Rhythm Project and has delivered teacher-training seminars for Le Festival De Danse Encore and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.
Ms. Lawson has performed and taught at the Vancouver International Tap Festival, Third Coast Rhythm Project, Sole to Soul Tap Festival, Tap into a Cure, MADD Rhythms, Canada, Le Biennale De Dance, Brazil, Tanzhaus Tap Ahead, Dusseldorf, Chicago Human Rhythm Project and was privileged to be a faculty member at the first Jacob’s Pillow Tap residency, under the direction of Dianne Walker.

Ms. Lawson was a principal dancer for six seasons with Tapestry Dance Company, where she also served as the Artistic Director of the pre-apprentice company, Visions in Rhythm, creating six new full- length works.  In 2007, the Austin Critics Table Awards nominated Ms. Lawson for “Female Dancer of the Year” for her performance in Acia Gray’s The Souls of Our Feet, a Celebration of American Tap Dance.
Ms. Lawson’s experience as an artist has inspired a unique creative voice, with her work being described as “ visually stimulating, thought provoking and having a sense of humor”. Most recently, she has returned from an engagement in Tokyo, Japan, where she served as Assistant Artistic Director for Cirque Du Soleil’s touring show, KOOZA.

Lisa La Touche

Proudly Canadian, now residing in New York City, Lisa is continuously reaching new heights by way of her many talents. Her platforms have ranged from the Beijing International Dance Festival as a dancer, choreographer and American media spokesperson, to performing on CBS with R&B/pop star Mya and Emmy Award winning choreographer Jason Samuels Smith, to the Muscial Theater genre- recently performing in Sophisticated Ladies showcasing the music by the great Duke Ellington.

Within the International Dance Festival scene, Lisa has been featured at the Brazilian International Tap Festival, L.A. Tap Festival, The Chicago Human Rhythm, Project Rhythm World, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Vancouver Tap Festival, Munich On Tap, and the Eastern Canadian Tap Conference to name a few. While residing in Chicago for over two years, she worked as Artistic Associate with Lane Alexander and the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and their performing ensemble BAM!, and also alongside Tre Dumas and his company, JusLisTeN.

Lisa worked as Assistant Director and Choreographer for multiple years working with Bril Barrett’s M.A.D.D. Rhythms, and founded their International extension, M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada in her hometown of Calgary, Canada. She also has the honor of working with other highly reputable artists their companies such as Jason Samuels Smith, Chloe Arnold, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Ted Levy, Roxane Butterfly, Max Polack, Barbara Duffy and currently works alongside Cecelia Leal Calloway honoring her father Cab Calloway and his musical Legacy.

Lisa La Touche was recently featured in the May 2008 issue of Dancer Magazine as an emerging artist. She has also studied with Chicago Jazz Dance legend Joel Hall and has also made her presence know in the Chicago Jazz music scene as a Tap Dance Musician. According to Lisa, the possibilities are endless and she is continuously reaching new heights in her career in the business of the Performing Arts.

Danny Nielsen

Danny Nielsen is one of Canada’s brightest rising young tap talents. Currently residing in Vancouver, BC, he is continuing in his second year as ‘Artist In Residence’ with the Vancouver Tap Dance Society. A member of Heather Cornell’s CanTap, he has entertained audiences in Boston and most recently Dusseldorf, Germany. Locally, he has been featured as a soloist in “Stark Pulse” in Vancouver and Seattle, “With You We Dance”, and “Miles To Feet” where he collaborated with various artists such as Jessie Sawyers, Dayna Syndrowski, and Josh Rawlings, to name a few. Danny also works closely with Breaking Barres out of Edmonton, AB with whom he recently finished a 10-day run of the The Fringe Festival, playing “Frank Sinatra” in the production “Prelude To A Kiss”.

At the ripe age of 20, Danny was hired as the Company tap trainer for the highly-regarded Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, which led to having short choreographies featured in their productions of Tinge and Tone and 25. Gaining ground nationally as well as internationally, Danny has been seen performing and teaching at The Tap Ahead Festival, Brasil Tap Jazz, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and the Vancouver Tap Fest. Television credits include the worldwide broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies and the opening number for the 2008 Jerry Lewis Telethon choreographed by Chloe Arnold in Las Vegas, NV.

Sarah Dolan

Sarah's passion for dance is evident in every moment on stage, every class she teaches and every piece she creates.
Sarah has had the privilege of being part of numerous works, diverse dance shows and can even be seen in the film "The Wickerman". Since 2008, Sarah has had the honour of assisting Sean Cheesman on CTV's So You Think You Can Dance Canada (Season One, Two, Three and Four), Fox America's So You Think You Can Dance (Season Six, Seven and Eight), and BBC's So You Think You Can Dance UK (Season One and Two). Also with Mr. Cheesman, Sarah recently worked on the Peter Andre Revelation Tour 2010 in the UK.
Sarah has been a faculty member of the Edge School for seven years. She is 'in high demand' as a teacher and choreographer having worked with and influenced countless students, dancers and artists, many of whom have continued their pursuit of a professional career in dance with great success.
Sarah Dolan approaches each project, movement and dancer with an irrefutable passion, knowledge, and devotion to dance. As the Artistic Director of O2 The Dance Company, Sarah's extraordinary gift and commitment to the art and its artists provides a solid framework from which the contemporary company and its members thrive.