Diane
Vivona began dancing at an early age in the hopes of becoming a
Radio City Rockette, though her aspirations soon shifted to the
world of classical ballet. As a young dancer she was a scholarship
student at the Joffrey Ballet School and attended St. Paul's School
under the direction of Richard Rein. At St. Paul's she danced her
first Sugar Plum and began choreographing. She attended Columbia
University and was introduced through a course in dance criticism
to the downtown modern dance scene. Diane enrolled in the Merce
Cunningham Studio with a scholarship and then apprenticed with the
company; eventually she joined the studio faculty. In 1986 she began
choreographing her own work in New York, receiving favorable reviews
in The New York Times and The Village Voice. From 1990-1995 she
was a soloist with The Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles. Diane's
teaching credits include three years at Laban Centre London, where
she taught contemporary technique, choreography, and repertory,
and two years at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where
she developed an inter-disciplinary course in performance art in
addition to her work in dance. Diane earned a Masters degree from
the City University of London and is the recipient of a 1999 Bonnie
Bird New British Choreography Award. Currently she is Director of
Art-Based Programs at The
Field, a non-profit service organization serving independent
performing artists in New York City.
Diane
Vivona began dancing at an early age in the hopes of becoming a
Radio City Rockette, though her aspirations soon shifted to the
world of classical ballet. As a young dancer she was a scholarship
student at the Joffrey Ballet School and attended St. Paul's School
under the direction of Richard Rein. At St. Paul's she danced her
first Sugar Plum and began choreographing. She attended Columbia
University and was introduced through a course in dance criticism
to the downtown modern dance scene. Diane enrolled in the Merce
Cunningham Studio with a scholarship and then apprenticed with the
company; eventually she joined the studio faculty. In 1986 she began
choreographing her own work in New York, receiving favorable reviews
in The New York Times and The Village Voice. From 1990-1995 she
was a soloist with The Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles. Diane's
teaching credits include three years at Laban Centre London, where
she taught contemporary technique, choreography, and repertory,
and two years at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where
she developed an inter-disciplinary course in performance art in
addition to her work in dance. Diane earned a Masters degree from
the City University of London and is the recipient of a 1999 Bonnie
Bird New British Choreography Award. Currently she is Director of
Art-Based Programs at