Interview: Dancing with Purpose is Key for Diane Nicole Lee

The road to a professional dance career is never smooth. Certainly, there are speed bumps you plan for and expect. But it's the unseen twists and turns beyond the horizon, just out of reach, that makes every dancer's journey unique. This is especially true if you travel down this path later in life.

For Diane Nicole Lee, a multi-hyphenate storyteller living and working in New York City, the goal was always to dance—despite the many detours along the way. "I always knew that I wanted to be a performer in some way. It started pretty early on in my life." But as a Chinese-Filipina artist from Manila, Lee is on a deeper mission than just to dance for dance's sake: On August 17th, Lee is producing and performing in Summer Pulse, a one-night-only showcase celebrating the rhythm, joy, and heart of NYC’s emerging dance artists. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit Share The Movement, a nonprofit organization that's working to increase access and equity in dance training for BIPOC youth. In a time of such deep social and political unrest, this kind of entrepreneurial artistry and collaboration is exactly what the world needs.

I recently sat down with Diane to learn more about this initiative. 

Q: Take me back to the time that you decided to pursue dance professionally.

DNL: Growing up with my grandfather, he would always have a big birthday party with my cousins…we would be asked to perform in front of my family. I realized that I loved to move to music. Then, when I was in kindergarten, there was this performance at school—it was a ballet piece that really moved me. I trained for 6.5 years—I just really loved it. Whenever I would come home from class, I was still practicing and stretching. [laughs] Eventually, my mom allowed me to join these dance competitions [to] represent the country. But toward the end of my time at that school, my mom fell into a coma, so it made me take a step back from ballet. I decided to really focus on family time. 

[I’m] Chinese-Fillipino, so it’s very normal to pursue the "more stable" career paths, where you end up becoming a doctor or a lawyer. In my case, we have a family business, and I did feel a bit of an obligation of fulfilling this legacy. When I came to college at Fordham, I didn’t pursue dance, but I took up digital and media design, and that's when I discovered my love of film. It was during COVID-19 when I really dove into dance again, because we had so much time. With everything being virtual, I just started taking classes again, and that’s when I realized, “I still think I want to do this.” I really followed my heart and intuition.

Q: It sounds like dance has been a through line in your life in different ways. How do you think dance, in all of its forms, has shaped you into the person you are today?

DNL: Dance has helped me become really malleable and flexible. For a moment in time, I thought ballet was the end all, be all…[but] dance made me so open to many different things and to be curious. That’s how I ended up in filmmaking [for a while]. As a dancer, I’m beginning to realize that it’s so easy to embrace who I am as an artist, and I’m not obligated to a single style or art form. 

Q: What do you think the dance world needs more of? 

DNL: The dance world needs a lot more openness. In auditions, as much as they want you to "be yourself," there are always casting types that they're looking for, so that can be limiting. And for me, as someone who's really short, the height requirement [can be] a little discouraging. We are missing some of the magic when we're putting everything in a box. Across the board, diversity can definitely be expanded more.

Q: I imagine this call for more openness inspired Summer Pulse. Tell me more about the origins of this showcase and how it's coming to life.

DNL: Summer Pulse came from the desire to perform. And then, [I thought] I could invite a few other friends and rent out this theatre—whoever wants to perform something, whether they're dancing or want to choreograph. As artists, play is such an important aspect and to me, summer is such a great time to have fun and not take everything so seriously. That's when I got the idea to produce this show...I started reaching out to many different people [to help] cultivate this space for others.

Q: Part of the evening's proceeds will benefit Share The Movement. Can you talk more about that?

DNL: Coming up with this show, I wanted it to benefit a cause that I'm passionate about. Share The Movement is a nonprofit that I discovered during COVID-19. Their mission is to provide opportunities to BIPOC young dancers, so they partnered with a lot of different studios nationwide, [including] Broadway Dance Center, to provide scholarships and grants. As someone who also is an international student, it's something very close to me, making sure people get the opportunity to strengthen their training and set them up for the professional dance world. 

Q: What do you wish for at the finish line of Summer Pulse?

DNL: [This process] made me realize how much I also like producing—being able to put this show together, collaborating with many different people...it reminded me that I should go for it, and try not to do everything so perfectly. Things are really coming together and now, it's just [about] enjoying the rest of the ride, being able to witness the talent in the show, and seeing how the community will show up for each other. I couldn’t be any happier about my decision; I am grateful that my dad and my family have been so supportive of it…and here I am.