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{{Short description|American choreographer}}
{{AfC submission/draft}}
{{Infobox person

| name = Diane Jacobowitz
Diane Jacobowitz is an American choreographer, dancer, teacher, director and the founder of Dancewave.
| image = DIANE JACOBOWITZ.jpg
| birth_date = * October 30,1952
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]]
| citizenship = American
| education = *Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Ohio State in 1974
*Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance Connecticut College 1984
| occupation = *Choreographer
| known_for = The founder of [[Dancewave]]
| spouse = Richard Merle
| children = Eliana Merle
| mother = Celia Dorothy
| father = Judah Jacobowitz
| website =
}}
'''Diane Jacobowitz''' (born 30 October 1952) is an American choreographer, dancer and the founder of [[Dancewave]]'''. <sup></sup>'''<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web |title=Hip-Hop, Folk and Karate Through a Strainer on a Hot Afternoon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/arts/dance/downtown-dance-festival-opens-review.html |website=nytimes.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="nypost.com">{{cite web |title=Dancewave troupe wows them in Scotland |url=https://nypost.com/2010/08/10/dancewave-troupe-wows-them-in-scotland/ |website=nypost.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="broadwayworld.com">{{cite web |title=Founder Stepping Off As Executive Director Of Dancewave After 25 Years |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Founder-Stepping-Off-As-Executive-Director-Of-Dancewave-After-25-Years-20200212 |website=broadwayworld.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>


== Early Life and Education ==
== Early Life and Education ==
Jacobowitz was born on October 30,1952 on the [[Lower East Side]] of [[Manhattan]]. Both her parents were [[Jews|Jewish]] and first-generation Americans, whose parents had immigrated from [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]. Jacobowitz’s father Judah Jacobowitz, was a civil engineer who worked for Mobil Oil Corporation, and her mother Celia Dorothy Goldstein was employed as a secretary for various firms. <ref name="centraljersey.com">{{cite web |title=Kingston poet lived life on his own terms |url=https://archive.centraljersey.com/2006/01/12/kingston-poet-lived-life-on-his-own-terms/ |website=centraljersey.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>
Jacobowitz was born on October 30,1952 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

When Jacobowitz turned 4, her family moved out of New York City to [[Elmsford, New York|Elmsford, NY]].<ref name="centraljersey.com"></ref> From a young age she took lessons at a local dance studio in green burgh, New York.

At the age of 9, Jacobowitz family moved to [[White Plains, New York|White Plains, NY]]'''.''' She attended the Westchester Music and Arts Camp in Croton-on-Hudson and studied with Charlotte Walsh''' '''a dancer with the [[Charles Weidman]] Company and [[Annabelle Gamson|Anabelle Gamson]]''', '''who had danced both on Broadway and with [[American Ballet Theatre|American Ballet Theater]]. Jacobowitz danced in Westchester Dance Theater until she graduated from White Plains High School in 1967.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scarsdale Inquirer 11 May 1967 — HRVH Historical Newspapers |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=scarsdaleinquire19670511.2.63&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=news.hrvh.org}}</ref>

She attended the [[Ohio State University]] in 1970''',''' where she majored in Dance'''.''' She earned a''' '''[[Bachelor of Fine Arts|Bachelor of Fine Arts degree]] in Dance from Ohio State in 1974 and moved to [[New York City]]. From 1982-84, she attended '''[[Connecticut College]]''' under a full fellowship and received her [[Master of Fine Arts]] degree in Dance. <ref name="voiceamerica"></ref><ref name="dancewave.org"></ref> She is a Level 4 Certified Essentrics Teacher, Creative Aging in Dance Teaching Artist, and a certified ''' EFT''' ([[Emotional Freedom Techniques|Emotional Freedom Technique]]) [[Tapping]] Mentor specializing in healing modalities. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Guest Artists Masterclass Series – Dances For A Variable Population |url=https://www.dvpnyc.org/guest-artists-master-class-series/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.dvpnyc.org}}</ref><ref name="essentrics.com"></ref>

== Diane Jacobowitz Dance Theater (DJDT) ==
In 1979, Jacobowitz founded Diane Jacobowitz Dance Theater, a company known for dance theater performances.<ref name="dancewave.org">{{cite web |title=Founder & Emeritus Artistic Director |url=https://dancewave.org/diane-jacobowitz/ |website=dancewave.org |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="voiceamerica">{{cite web |title=Diane Jacobowitz |url=https://www.voiceamerica.com/guest/62105/diane-jacobowitz |website=voiceamerica |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref> The company has produced numerous acclaimed works, including ''Materials for a New World'', which was created during a residency at the Yellow Springs Institute in 1984. DJDT performed at various notable venues in [[New York City]], such as Dance Theater Workshop and [[Danspace Project]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Item Details {{!}} Research Catalog {{!}} NYPL |url=https://mobile.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b12167657 |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Item Details {{!}} Research Catalog {{!}} NYPL |language=en}}</ref>

Jacobowitz commissioned choreographer [[Anna Sokolow]] to create ''Steps of Silence'' for her company. Despite a successful season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)<ref name="nytimes.com"></ref> in 1994, financial difficulties led Jacobowitz to disband DJDT and focus on motherhood.

== Founding of [[Dancewave]] ==
In 1995, Jacobowitz founded '''[[Dancewave]]'''<ref name="nymag.com">{{cite web |title=Growing by Leaps and Bounds |url=https://nymag.com/family/kids/16093/ |website=nymag.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="nyc-arts.org">{{cite web |title=Dancewave |url=https://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/dancewave/ |website=nyc-arts.org |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref> an organization designed to provide pre-professional training for talented dancers from underserved backgrounds.<ref name="dancewave.org"></ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dancewave Performs Contemporary Works at Pocantico {{!}} Rockefeller Brothers Fund |url=https://www.rbf.org/news/dancewave-performs-contemporary-works-pocantico |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.rbf.org |language=en}}</ref>She developed initiatives like the Kids Cafe Festival at [[Long Island University]], which became an important platform for showcasing young talent.<ref name="essentrics.com">{{cite web |title=Diane Jacobowitz |url=https://essentrics.com/instructors/diane-jacobowitz-2/ |website=essentrics.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="voiceamerica"></ref>

[[Dancewave]] Company performed at the [[Aberdeen International Youth Festival]].<ref name="nypost.com"></ref> It also expanded its arts-in-education programs in New York City public schools, providing tuition-free dance classes. <ref name="nyc.gov">{{cite web |title=News and Press Releases |url=https://www.nyc.gov/site/dcla/about/pressrelease/PR-2019-06-07-Dancewave-DDC-ribbon-cutting.page |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=nyc.gov}}</ref><ref name="nymag.com"></ref>

Jacobowitz retired in 2020, passing leadership to Nicole Touzien. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Rabinowitz |first=Chloe |title=Dancewave Announces Nicole Touzien as New Executive Director |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Dancewave-Announces-Nicole-Touzie-as-New-Executive-Director-20200819 |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Teaching and Mentorship ==
Jacobowitz served as an [[Associate professor|Associate Professor]] of Dance at [[Long Island University]], where she established the Dance Major program. <ref name="essentrics.com"></ref> Additionally, she taught at the [[Berkeley Carroll School]] in [[Brooklyn]] and local dance studios.<ref name="dancewave.org"></ref>

== Personal Life ==
In 1981, Diane married Tom Wachunas, a painter and visual artist. <ref name="The New York Times">{{cite web |title=Dance: Diane Jacobowitz |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/17/archives/dance-diane-jacobowitz.html |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> They divorced in 1990. She married Richard Merle in 1991. They have a daughter, Eliana Merle,born in 1992. Diane Jacobowitz resides in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, NY]]. <ref name="broadwayworld.com"></ref> with her husband.

After retiring from [[Dancewave]], Jacobowitz received five [[Brooklyn Arts Council Film and Video Festival|Brooklyn Arts Council]] grants for her Creative Aging classes and films with Rebecca Oviatt.<ref name="grantees.brooklynartscouncil.org">{{cite web |title=Diane Jacobowitz |url=https://grantees.brooklynartscouncil.org/2024-grantees/diane-jacobowitz/ |website=grantees.brooklynartscouncil.org |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="wtgrantfoundation.org">{{cite web |title=Diane Jacobowitz |url=https://wtgrantfoundation.org/people/jacobowitz-diane |website=wtgrantfoundation.org |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>

== Notable Choreographic Works ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Works
|-
|1994
|
* ''Film Noir''
* ''Fugitive of the Dance World Coolies''
* ''Kroll Opera House''
|-
|1992
|
* ''Red, Ned, Ted in Bed''
* ''Paul’s Passion''
|-
|1991
|
* ''Operation Dance''
|-
|1990
|
* ''Politically Correct Dancing''
|-
|1989
|
* ''Earth Murmurs''
* ''Babel''
|-
|1988
|
* ''Queen Anne’s Birthday''
* ''Shed''
* ''Potato Field''
* ''Power Spot I and II''
|-
|1987
|
* Preachers
|-
|1986
|
* Albatross
* Cinderella
|-
|1985
|
* ''Last Dance''
* ''Oranges''
* ''Beach''
|-
|1984
|
* ''Materials for a New World''
* ''Imperfectly Ernestine (MFA project''
|-
|1983
|
* ''Lir Circle''
|-
|1982
|
* ''The Campala''
* ''Vertigo''
|-
|1981
|
* ''Lecture-Dem in Geeneewannaland''
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women choreographers]]
[[Category:American artistic directors]]
[[Category:American entertainers]]
[[Category:American contemporary dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American choreographers]]
[[Category:21st-century American dancers]]

Latest revision as of 10:48, 23 November 2024

Diane Jacobowitz
Born
CitizenshipAmerican
Education
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Ohio State in 1974
  • Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance Connecticut College 1984
Occupation
  • Choreographer
Known forThe founder of Dancewave
SpouseRichard Merle
ChildrenEliana Merle
Parents
  • Judah Jacobowitz (father)
  • Celia Dorothy (mother)

Diane Jacobowitz (born 30 October 1952) is an American choreographer, dancer and the founder of Dancewave. [1][2][3]

Early Life and Education

[edit]

Jacobowitz was born on October 30,1952 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Both her parents were Jewish and first-generation Americans, whose parents had immigrated from Poland and Lithuania. Jacobowitz’s father Judah Jacobowitz, was a civil engineer who worked for Mobil Oil Corporation, and her mother Celia Dorothy Goldstein was employed as a secretary for various firms. [4]

When Jacobowitz turned 4, her family moved out of New York City to Elmsford, NY.[4] From a young age she took lessons at a local dance studio in green burgh, New York.

At the age of 9, Jacobowitz family moved to White Plains, NY. She attended the Westchester Music and Arts Camp in Croton-on-Hudson and studied with Charlotte Walsh a dancer with the Charles Weidman Company and Anabelle Gamson, who had danced both on Broadway and with American Ballet Theater. Jacobowitz danced in Westchester Dance Theater until she graduated from White Plains High School in 1967.[5]

She attended the Ohio State University in 1970, where she majored in Dance. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Ohio State in 1974 and moved to New York City. From 1982-84, she attended Connecticut College under a full fellowship and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance. [6][7] She is a Level 4 Certified Essentrics Teacher, Creative Aging in Dance Teaching Artist, and a certified EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Tapping Mentor specializing in healing modalities. [8][9]

Diane Jacobowitz Dance Theater (DJDT)

[edit]

In 1979, Jacobowitz founded Diane Jacobowitz Dance Theater, a company known for dance theater performances.[7][6] The company has produced numerous acclaimed works, including Materials for a New World, which was created during a residency at the Yellow Springs Institute in 1984. DJDT performed at various notable venues in New York City, such as Dance Theater Workshop and Danspace Project. [10]

Jacobowitz commissioned choreographer Anna Sokolow to create Steps of Silence for her company. Despite a successful season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)[1] in 1994, financial difficulties led Jacobowitz to disband DJDT and focus on motherhood.

Founding of Dancewave

[edit]

In 1995, Jacobowitz founded Dancewave[11][12] an organization designed to provide pre-professional training for talented dancers from underserved backgrounds.[7][13]She developed initiatives like the Kids Cafe Festival at Long Island University, which became an important platform for showcasing young talent.[9][6]

Dancewave Company performed at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.[2] It also expanded its arts-in-education programs in New York City public schools, providing tuition-free dance classes. [14][11]

Jacobowitz retired in 2020, passing leadership to Nicole Touzien. [15]

Teaching and Mentorship

[edit]

Jacobowitz served as an Associate Professor of Dance at Long Island University, where she established the Dance Major program. [9] Additionally, she taught at the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn and local dance studios.[7]

Personal Life

[edit]

In 1981, Diane married Tom Wachunas, a painter and visual artist. [16] They divorced in 1990. She married Richard Merle in 1991. They have a daughter, Eliana Merle,born in 1992. Diane Jacobowitz resides in Brooklyn, NY. [3] with her husband.

After retiring from Dancewave, Jacobowitz received five Brooklyn Arts Council grants for her Creative Aging classes and films with Rebecca Oviatt.[17][18]

Notable Choreographic Works

[edit]
Year Works
1994
  • Film Noir
  • Fugitive of the Dance World Coolies
  • Kroll Opera House
1992
  • Red, Ned, Ted in Bed
  • Paul’s Passion
1991
  • Operation Dance
1990
  • Politically Correct Dancing
1989
  • Earth Murmurs
  • Babel
1988
  • Queen Anne’s Birthday
  • Shed
  • Potato Field
  • Power Spot I and II
1987
  • Preachers
1986
  • Albatross
  • Cinderella
1985
  • Last Dance
  • Oranges
  • Beach
1984
  • Materials for a New World
  • Imperfectly Ernestine (MFA project
1983
  • Lir Circle
1982
  • The Campala
  • Vertigo
1981
  • Lecture-Dem in Geeneewannaland

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Hip-Hop, Folk and Karate Through a Strainer on a Hot Afternoon". nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Dancewave troupe wows them in Scotland". nypost.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Founder Stepping Off As Executive Director Of Dancewave After 25 Years". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Kingston poet lived life on his own terms". centraljersey.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Scarsdale Inquirer 11 May 1967 — HRVH Historical Newspapers". news.hrvh.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  6. ^ a b c "Diane Jacobowitz". voiceamerica. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Founder & Emeritus Artistic Director". dancewave.org. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Guest Artists Masterclass Series – Dances For A Variable Population". www.dvpnyc.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  9. ^ a b c "Diane Jacobowitz". essentrics.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Item Details | Research Catalog | NYPL". Item Details | Research Catalog | NYPL. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  11. ^ a b "Growing by Leaps and Bounds". nymag.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Dancewave". nyc-arts.org. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Dancewave Performs Contemporary Works at Pocantico | Rockefeller Brothers Fund". www.rbf.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  14. ^ "News and Press Releases". nyc.gov. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  15. ^ Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Dancewave Announces Nicole Touzien as New Executive Director". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  16. ^ "Dance: Diane Jacobowitz". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Diane Jacobowitz". grantees.brooklynartscouncil.org. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Diane Jacobowitz". wtgrantfoundation.org. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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