Diedre Dawkins, a 2003 Bessie Award winner, is the founder of “Dance is Healing,” a mentoring initiative for middle school girls that uses dance as a tool for empowerment. She graduated from the New York City High School of the Performing Arts and earned her BFA in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Dawkins also holds an MFA in Choreography and Performance from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is currently pursuing her K-12 Teacher Certification at Towson University.

For eight years, Dawkins was a member of Ronald K. Brown /Evidence Dance Company, where she had the opportunity to teach and perform across the United States and internationally, including in Senegal, Switzerland, Greece, France, London, and Cuba. As a Screen Actors Guild member, she has worked with notable artists such as Bill T. Jones (FELA), Bebe Miller, Kevin Iega Jeff (Deeply Rooted Dance Theater), Jawole Zollar (Urban Bush Women), and Amaniyea Payne (Muntu Dance Theater).

Over the past six years, Dawkins has served as an adjunct professor of dance at Coppin State University and currently holds the position of Arts Director at ConneXions: A Community-Based Arts School, where she was named Teacher of the Year for 2016-17. She also founded and directs ConneXions Repertory Company, composed of students and alumni from ConneXions. This fall, the company is honored to perform at the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Her contributions as a program facilitator and dance director include providing statewide performance opportunities and exceptional audition preparation for students, leading to their acceptance into prestigious arts institutions nationwide.

In addition to her role as a modern dance instructor at Alvin Ailey Camp/Towson, Dawkins has been an adjunct professor at Towson University and a visiting artist at Howard University. She also works as a teaching artist with Young Audiences of Maryland and has held various roles as a consultant, artistic director, and dance program facilitator for arts institutions across the country. Dawkins developed the highly successful “Literacy through the Arts Curriculum” for grades pre-K through 8 and co-chaired the revision committee for the dance curriculum in Baltimore City schools. She leads Dance is Healing Performing Arts Preparatory, providing summer dance instruction with a focus on health and political awareness, and founded the DPAP six-week summer intensive, culminating in a dance immersion week in New York City. Dawkins is deeply committed to children and teaching, dedicating her career to youth and community enrichment.