Meet Diina Tamm | Dancer, choreographer, specialty performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diina Tamm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diina, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I would say, for my personal success, it’s the courage to make choices that feel right for me. That sometimes means bold, untraditional choices. They may not make sense to some people but when I get an idea that I’m really excited about, I ask myself how can I make this work, not if I can make this work. I sort of always go with my gut, even if it’s against the odds.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a professional dancer, choreographer and performer. My specialty skills include stilt walking, dancing on rollerskates, fire spinning and aerial arts. My dance journey began when I was 4 years old and grew into a real passion that became an absolutely essential part of my everyday life. When I was 17 I started booking musicals and show productions on a cruise ships. All of that was so exciting and brought so much joy. Nevertheless, I had to deal with what every artist essentially has to deal with, the questions like “well but what is your real job?” “But how long are you gonna keep doing that?” So I ended up getting into my second passion, studies of clinical psychology while still dancing on the side. I never stopped dancing but I also managed to get that masters degree in a field that I still do find super interesting. But after I finished my studies and got an offer to what was my dream job back then, I realized that I’m not ready to give up dance. So in a whirlwind of events , I decided to move to the US, got accepted into an international dance entraining program and moved to NYC a few months later. And that was a beginning of a completely new era. I grew tremendously as a dancer, the level and versatility of everyones skills was amazing, it motivated me to work my butt off. It was competitive, so competitive. But that made me work even harder. I started choreographing, something I hadn’t really done that much before. But I discovered that I really loved it, and I was good at it, and it gave me an opportunity to express myself without being limited by words. It was not easy, by any means. But it was driven by passion, I loved it so much, it made me feel so alive. You can see some of the world’s best dancers next to you in class, or an audition room. And it can be really intimidating. It’s easy to lean back and fall down the rabbit hole of your doubts, to think about all your shortcomings. But it really trained me fo focus on my strengths. I had a lot of performance experience, a strong stage presence, good work ethics. While still working one bettering my skills of course. And that has always been one key takeaways for me, if there is no clear way, then how can I find an extra path, how can I make it different. When Covid happened, things got really challenging for the performing artists. Everything we do is in person entertainment, in person dance classes etc. And it was really scary for some time. I decided to start my online dance class series. But there were hundreds of home workouts available. So I decided to throw different theme classes every week, make a whole theme party out of it, with music, choreography, encourage people to dress up in costumes. And it worked, and people had so much fun. For the second time I considered concluding my performer’s career and turn back to work in mental health. But then it just so happened that I moved in with some friends who taught me how to stilt walk, spin fire and do aerial arts. And once again, I felt like I’m far from being done. When the world reopened, I was able to start practicing all those fun disciplines professionally. Today I perform professionally on a weekly basis, I perform on stilts, rollerskates, aerial apparatuses, dance with fire. I directed and choreographed a new show, and was lucky enough to take it on a mini tour. Covid was like a long cocoon phase for many creatives. I sometimes thought that my eclectic taste in different dance styles and performing disciplines has worked against me becoming a true master of one. But at this point I understand, that the versatility of my skillset is what makes me successful. So called shortcomings are often your assets, it’s possible to turn weaknesses in your strength. And granted, there are performances that I love more than others, but I really love minimum 98% of my work, I’m always happy to glitter up and bring some magic to people’s day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I feel like I’ve met oh so many amazing artist that I look up to along the way and there is so much I’ve learned from my coworkers, fellow movement artists, choreographers I’ve worked with. I guess every person you cross paths with inspires you in a certain way. Sometimes you want to be like them and sometimes you want to do things differently, and those are both equally important!. I want to give a shoutout to my childhood dance teacher Kati Grüner who gave me a priceless performance skillset, my great friend and a fellow choreographer Amanda Carlson who has always believed in me, encouraged and supported me throughout my journey, dear friends and colleagues at Wild Arts Collective for believing me and teaching me so much, Estonian American National Council who has supported all my culturally relevant endeavors, my boss Maria Kent at Black Haus Creative that is just one of the most inspiring humanist and and most brilliant artistic minds put there, and of course all my close friends, family and a fantastic partner who supports everything I do.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I feel like I’ve met oh so many amazing artist that I look up to along the way and there is so much I’ve learned from my coworkers, fellow movement artists, choreographers I’ve worked with. I guess every person you cross paths with inspires you in a certain way. Sometimes you want to be like them and sometimes you want to do things differently, and those are both equally important!. I want to give a shoutout to my childhood dance teacher Kati Grüner who gave me a priceless performance skillset,  my great friend and a fellow choreographer Amanda Carlson who has always believed in me, encouraged and supported me throughout my journey, dear friends and colleagues at Wild Arts Collective for believing me and teaching me so much, Estonian American National Council who has supported all my culturally relevant endeavors, my boss Maria Kent at Black Haus Creative that is just one of the most inspiring humanist and and most brilliant artistic minds put there, and  of course my close circle of the most important people who cheer for me in everything I do. 

Website: https://www.diinatamm.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammediina

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diina-tamm-790abaa4/

Image Credits
Tyler Milliron
Elina Malleus
Kenny Rodriquez
Matt Kroll