Dianne McIntyre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dianne McIntyre
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| Born | July 18, 1946 (age 78) |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Occupation | dancer, teacher, choreographer |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Parent(s) | Dorothy Layne McIntyre and Francis Benjamin McIntyre |
Dianne McIntyre (born July 18, 1946) is an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She is known for her amazing dance works. These include Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Dance Adventure in Southern Blues (A Choreodrama). This piece was inspired by Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
She also created dances for plays like why i had to dance, spell #7, and for colored girls who have considered ... when the rainbow is enuf. These plays were written by Ntozake Shange. Dianne McIntyre has won many awards for her work. These include an Emmy Award nomination, three Bessie Awards, and a Helen Hayes Award.
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Early Life and Dance Training
Dianne McIntyre was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Dorothy Layne McIntyre, was the first African-American woman to get a pilot's license from the Civil Aeronautics Authority. Her father was Francis Benjamin McIntyre.
Dianne started ballet lessons at age four. She was inspired after seeing Janet Collins perform in the opera Aida. As a teenager, she learned modern dance from Virginia Dryansky.
In 1964, Dianne graduated from John Adams High School. She then went to Ohio State University. At first, she planned to study French and work for the United Nations. But in her third year, she changed her major to dance. She realized dance was her true passion. While at Ohio State, she was asked to create dances for a special evening with famous dancers.
Starting Her Dance Career
After college, Dianne McIntyre worked at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She choreographed dances there for a year. In 1970, she moved to New York City to continue her dance journey.
In New York, she studied with well-known dancers like Viola Farber and Gus Solomons Jr.. She became very interested in how dance and avant-garde jazz music could be combined. She started going to jazz musicians' rehearsals to learn how to move to their music. She was even nicknamed the "Cancer Dancer" because she was born in July.
Dianne felt strongly about connecting dance with live jazz. She explained that many Black artists at that time wanted their work to help move forward the understanding of their race in society.
Sounds in Motion Dance Company
In 1972, Dianne McIntyre started her own dance studio and company called Sounds in Motion. It was located in Harlem, New York. She first performed her own solo concert at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts.
To help fund her company, she worked part-time at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Sounds in Motion eventually joined the National Endowment for the Arts dance-touring program. This allowed them to perform at famous places like the Joyce Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. They even toured in Europe.
Some of the dances created by Sounds in Motion include Life’s Force (1979). This was made with musician Ahmed Abdullah. Another piece, Take Off From a Forced Landing (1984), was about her mother's experiences as a pilot. In 1986, they performed a piece based on Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Sounds in Motion was the only modern dance studio in Harlem during the 1970s and 1980s. It was a special place where dancers, musicians, scholars, and activists could meet. They worked together to promote Black culture and awareness. Many students who trained with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion became successful dancers themselves. One example is Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, who founded the Urban Bush Women dance company.
Independent Choreography
Dianne McIntyre closed Sounds in Motion in 1988 after 16 years. She wanted to work on other projects as a freelance choreographer. She helped bring back interest in the work of modern dance pioneer Helen Tamiris. Dianne recreated Tamiris's 1937 dance, How Long, Brethren?, in 1991.
As a freelance artist, Dianne choreographed many Broadway shows. These included Mule Bone (1991) and King Hedley II (2001). She also choreographed for television. She worked on HBO's Miss Evers' Boys (1997), which earned her an Emmy Award nomination. She also choreographed for the 1998 film Beloved, based on the novel by Toni Morrison.
In 2001, PBS featured Dianne McIntyre in their documentary series Free to Dance. In 2011, she choreographed the film Fun Size. In 2012, Sounds in Motion reunited for a special performance of Life's Force.
Dianne McIntyre has also been a guest artist and teacher at many dance festivals. These include the American Dance Festival and Jacob's Pillow Dance.
Working with Ntozake Shange
Dianne McIntyre and writer Ntozake Shange first met when Shange was a student at Sounds in Motion. They have worked together on many projects since then.
They collaborated on Shange's play Spell #7 in 1979. They also worked on Shange's one-act play, It Hasn't Always Been This Way. In 2012, they created why i had to dance, a choreopoem (a mix of poetry and dance).
In 2013, Barnard College held a conference about Ntozake Shange's work. Dianne McIntyre and Shange talked about their long partnership and its impact. In 2014, Dianne returned to Barnard to lead a dance workshop for a class about Shange's influence.
Selected Works
- Life's Force (1979)
- spell #7 (1979)
- Take Off From a Forced Landing (1984)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (1986)
- Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper (1988)
- How Long, Brethren? (1991)
- Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
- Beloved (1998)
- It Hasn't Always Been This Way (2007)
- Joe Turner's Come and Gone (2009)
- Just Yesterday (2010)
- Open the Door Virginia! (2005)
- Front Porch Lies and Other Conversations (2007)
- Daughter of a Buffalo Soldier (2005)
- why i had to dance (2012)
Awards and Recognition
- 1989, 1997, 2006 Bessie Awards
- 1993, 1996 Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design
- 1997 Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography
- 2006 Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award for Dance
- 2007 John S. Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2008 Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Chair for Distinguished Teaching
- 2009 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from State University of New York Purchase
- 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award Doris Duke Performing Artist Award
See also
