2006 Distinguished Alumna Award
Dianne Markham, B.A. (1971)
(From Ledger Lines, February 2006)

Dianne Markham received a Bachelor of Arts in dance from the University of Oregon in 1971. She trained with Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis, and Phyllis Lamhut, and performed with the Murray Louis Dance Company, and with Nureyev and Friends.

Her choreography has been performed by national and international companies, including the London Contemporary Dance Festival and the Hungarian International Dance Program. She joined the dance faculty at North Carolina School of the Arts in 1980 after touring nationally and internationally as a dancer, and is currently the assistant dean of the Dance Department. Her choreography at the School of the Arts includes Cowgirls, Silent Places/The Looking Glass (the basis of a PBS documentary on the choreographic process), and The Little Prince, among others. Markham is also the 2001 recipient of the UNC Board of Governor’s Teaching in Excellence Award.
In teaching and mentoring students, Markham draws on her considerable talents as a choreographer. As a result of her mentoring, a number of NCSA graduates have gone on to successful careers as dancers and choreographers. She also has conducted master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, and South America.