We asked five dancers at the top of their craft to explore their dance family trees, uncovering connections to the legendary dance artists who’ve shaped their careers.
Natasha Diamond-Walker, Martha Graham Dance Company
Rooted to: Lester Horton, Debbie Allen, Arthur Mitchell, Martha Graham, Fred Astaire
Natasha Diamond-Walker has been a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company for the past seven years, carrying on Graham’s legacy through her roles in repertory classics: Appalachian Spring, Cave of the Heart, Clytemnestra, Lamentation. As a company member, she’s also been able to work with today’s top contemporary choreographers. But her dance family tree is rooted in the icons who made modern dance what it is today.
Tracing It Back:
Karen McDonald, Diamond-Walker’s childhood teacher. The director of Los Angeles Unified School District Gifted/Talented Program Conservatory of Fine Arts at Cal State Los Angeles, McDonald is the director of Debbie Allen Dance Academy. A Broadway dancer before returning to L.A. to teach, McDonald studied at Dance Theater of Harlem with legendary mentors and teachers like George Faison, Donald McKayle, Don Martin, Janet Collins, Arthur Mitchell, and Karel Shook, among others. “She was the most instrumental person in my process because I really identified with her as being a tall black woman, with an Ailey-esque style of movement,” Diamond-Walker says. “She was super inspirational for me.”
Don Martin, Diamond-Walker’s teacher at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). Martin studied under icon Lester Horton, who taught the likes of Janet Collins, Carmen de Lavallade, and Alvin Ailey. “He was really instrumental because he not only taught me the Horton technique, but also about theatricality and how it speaks to dancing,” Diamond-Walker says.
Ka-Ron Brown-Lehman, Diamond-Walker’s mentor. Formerly artistic director of the LACHSA dance department (2001–2006), she was once a well-known TV dance artist, performing with Fred Astaire, Liza Minelli, and Diana Ross.
Francisco Martinez, Walker’s teacher at the Ailey/Fordham University BFA program. Currently a dance professor at The Juilliard School, Martinez trained at the National Ballet School in Spain, at the Maria de Avila Dance School, and with Victor Ullate, who was a principal in Maurice Béjart’s ballet company.
Why It Matters: Thinking about her connections to the past is important in Diamond-Walker’s professional career. At Graham, she’s enjoyed working with those who worked directly with Martha Graham, such as Elizabeth Auclair, Janet Eilber, Terese Capucilli, and Christine Dakin. “These women embody different parts of Graham’s legacy,” Diamond-Walker says. “They all have different interpretations of her work, but because of my experience with each of them, I feel deeply connected to Graham.”
See the full article originally published on Dance Spirit, by Emily Macel Theys on September 17, 2020
