SDA FACULTY

Dianne Maroney

Ms. Dianne has been dancing and sharing her love of dance for all of her life. She began her career in dance many years ago as a child in Norfolk, Virginia. Under the tutelage of Inez Howard and Dan Wagner, Ms. Dianne was accepted as a member of the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, extensively touring the U.S. She also performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, touring in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 1983, Ms. Dianne moved south to Louisiana and became the third artistic director for GSU’s Orchesis Dance Company. After 39 years with Orchesis, Ms. Dianne officially retired this year. We were happy to have her work with our Elite Level students in Advanced Modern this year.

Addison Pratt, Team SDA member and Elite Level 4 dancer, said “Ms. Dianne has helped me grow so much over the past two years. She has completely changed the way I look at the art of dance and I’ve loved having her as a teacher.”

Kathryn McDowell

Kathryn has been dancing for almost 40 years! She began her training under the founder of our studio, Ms. Marion Mills. She continued on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a Math minor from the University of Oklahoma; and a Master of Arts in teaching from Centenary College. After graduating from OU, she danced professionally with the Lexington Ballet Company in Lexington, Kentucky, and the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul, South Korea. Kathryn is the Artistic Director of the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet.