Dyane Harvey-Salaam


Dyane Harvey–Salaam is an American dancer, choreographer, educator, and performing artist. She has been awarded the 2024 BESSIE for Lifetime Achievement in Dance in addition to winning a Bessie Award in 2017 and nominations in 2019 and 2024. She is a certified Pilates instructor and serves on the board of the American Dance Guild.
Harvey-Salaam is a founding member of The Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company, where she has worked as both performer and assistant to artistic director Abdel R. Salaam. Known for its synthesis of African and Afro-diasporic traditions, the company integrates Ballet, Modern dance, and Hip-hop dance to create works rooted in spirituality, ritual, and community.
She is also the author of "Making Movement as an Act of Listening, Riding with the Muse," published in a College Language Association Journal special edition dedicated to the legacy of Ntozake Shange.
She is a member of the faculty at Princeton University and Hofstra University, where she teaches and develops courses in dance and movement studies.

Early life and education

Harvey–Salaam was born in Schenectady, New York to Audrey P. Harvey.
From a young age, Dyane Harvey–Salaam showed a distinct preference for hands-on learning in dance, opting for intense studio training over traditional academic study—a choice that initially surprised her mother. This dedication led her to leave home and secure an extended scholarship at Paul Sanasardo's Modern Dance Artists, marking the beginning of her formative New York dance education. Her training was further enriched at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, where she learned from influential figures like Thelma Hill, James Truitte, and Rod Rodgers.
Harvey–Salaam also pursued studies with Eleo Pomare at his studio and at the inaugural Ailey School located at the Firehouse on Fifty-Ninth Street, solidifying her foundational experience in the world of dance.

Career

Over the course of her career, Harvey–Salaam has appeared as a principal soloist with numerous concert dance companies, including the Eleo Pomare Dance Company, Joan Miller's Dance Players, Chuck Davis Dance Company, Walter Nicks Dance Company, Otis Sallid's New Art Ensemble, George Faison's Universal Dance Experience, Dance Brazil, and the Repertory Dance Theatre of Trinidad and Tobago.

Selected works

Her commercial and theatrical credits include performances in:
She also appeared in televised specials such as:Ailey Celebrates Ellington Free To Dance
In 2023, she performed as a guest artist in Sydnie L. Mosely's Purple: A Ritual in 9 Spells at Lincoln Center.

Collaborations with [Ntozake Shange]

  • Love's Fire
  • Spell No. 7: Dyane Harvey was an original cast member and performer in the production of this choreopoem.Boogie Woogie Landscapes: Harvey was also an original cast member in this Shange production.A Photograph: Lovers-in-Motion: Shange worked with dancers/choreographers, including Dyane Harvey and Mickey Davidson, on this piece.
  • Book Launch for Wild Beauty: Harvey performed a dance for the launch event of Shange's bilingual collection of poems, Wild Beauty.
  • Dance We Do: A Poet Explores Black Dance: Shange's posthumously published book, which explores Black dance history, includes an interview with Dyane Harvey and mentions her among the influential dancers Shange worked with and was inspired by.
Dyane Harvey–Salaam also served as the movement director/choreographer for a production of Ntozake Shange's work at the Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Their work together was a prime example of Shange's blend of poetry, music, and dance into a unique "choreopoem" form, highlighting the collaborative nature of her creative process.

Awards and recognition

Harvey–Salaam's distinguished career is underscored by numerous prestigious awards for both her choreographic and performance contributions. As a choreographer, she earned AUDELCO Awards for 'Oya the Dance Drama' and 'Great Men of Gospel'. Her choreography in Debra Ann Byrd's 'Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey' was critically acclaimed, receiving both the United Solo Award and the Broadway Berkshire Award. Her profound influence in dance has also been recognized with the A.I.R. Living Legends Award from Miami Dade Community College, alongside the Distinguished Woman Award from both the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Harlem Chamber of Commerce.
In the realm of performance, in 2024 Harvey–Salaam earned a BESSIE for Lifetime Achievement in Dance and a BESSIE nomination for her acclaimed performance in Sydnie L. Mosley's choreopoem, Purple: A Ritual in Nine Spells, staged at the Clark Theater at Lincoln Center. She garnered a 2019 BESSIE nomination for her role in the revival of Eleo Pomare's 'HEX'. Notably, she previously won a 2017 BESSIE for her exceptional performance in Dance Africa's/Abdel R. Salaam's 'Outstanding Production of the Year'. Additional honors celebrating her impact include the Woman of Distinction Award, the Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Award from the Hempstead African-American Museum, and the Dance for Life Award from Better Family Life. She also holds the Monarch Merit Award, the Black Theatre Award, and the Goddesses and Gurus Award.
Her career and contributions have been documented by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, including an Oral History Project interview and a feature in The Dance Historian Is In video series.

Mentions in Articles/Newspapers/Panels/Videos

  • 2024:
  • 2024:
  • 2022: "50th annual AUDELCOs spotlights Black Theater Excellence"
  • 2022: "AUDELCO noms named for 50th golden anniversary awards"
  • 2022:
  • 2022:
  • 2021:
  • 2019:
  • 2019:
  • 2019:
  • 2019:
  • 2019: "January 2019 Dance Calendar"
  • 2019: "Dance: "
  • 2018:
  • 2017:
  • 2016:
  • 2015: "An electrifying 'Kwanzaa Regeneration'"
  • 2014: "IMHOTEP'S GUIDE TO BLACK EVENTS"
  • 2012: "Fulton Art Fair: A little bit of history repeating"
  • 2007: "Nora Cole's "Spirits" a must-see"
  • 1998: "Sonnets Laced with Mischief: ."
  • 1998: "Love as They Like It / Seven writers base one-act plays on Shakespeare sonnets: "
  • 1998: "shakespeare revisited"
  • 1998: "`LOVE'S FIRE' INSPIRES PLAYWRIGHTS"
  • 1998:
  • 1998:
  • 1998:
  • 1998:
  • 1998:
  • 1988: "The Arts Community"
  • 1988: "Caribbean Concert"
  • 1983: "July 27, 1983"
  • 1991: "ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT; DANCE: "
  • 1979: "Shange casts a powerful 'Spell'"
  • 1979: "THEATER REVIEW: 'Geechee Magic Trance'"
  • 1979: "September 28, 1979"
  • 1978: "'Timbuktu:' exotic showcase for Black stars"
  • 1975: "Pomare dancers both strong and serene"