Dionne Figgins’ successful career has been 24 years in the making, beginning with her first ballet class at the University of Tennessee.  Her formal dance training began as a student of Doris Jones at the prestigious Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in Washington, DC.  She excelled in dance early on, and was offered scholarships to Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City and Rosella Hightower Ecole de Danse in Cannes, France.  During her high school years, Ms. Figgins began working with Dance Institute of Washington, under the direction of Fabian Barnes.  She performed Rosa, a solo for Rosa Parks, by Billy Wilson, at the Kennedy Center Opera House and on BET’s “Teen Summit.”  During her senior year of high school, Ms. Figgins was chosen to be Debbie Allen’s understudy in her production “Brother’s of the Knight,” at the Kennedy Center.

Following high school, Ms. Figgins entered Goucher College as a Rosenberg Scholar.  She continued her studies in dance and theater, performing leads roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade and Jose Limon’s Choreographic Offering.  Within 2 years, Ms. Figgins was offered a position in the Dancing Through Barriers program at Dance Theater of Harlem. She was promoted to the company shortly after, and began performing demi-soloist roles immediately.  Ms. Figgins performed lead roles in Serenade, Four Temperments, Agon, Tarantella, Concerto Barocco (Balanchine), Twist (Roden),  Concerto in F (Wilson), as well as others.  She was featured as a principal in the Pointe Magazine’s article “Dance Theater of Harlem’s Women Power.” 

During a hiatus from Dance Theater of Harlem, Ms. Figgins began teaching ballet at DTH and at the Ailey School.  She performed as a guest artist with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. She also began to perform her own choreography at venues like Joe’s Pub in NY.  She made her film debut, performing in the “Coming Together” scene of Across the Universe and a year later, made her Broadway debut as an original cast member of  Hot Feet, conceived, choreographed, and directed by Maurice Hines.  During its run on Broadway, she was the stand-by Kalimba, performing the lead role frequently.  She is the official logo for Hot Feet.  After Hot Feet’s closing, Ms. Figgins joined the cast of  The Wiz, directed by Des McAnuff, at the La Jolla Playhouse.

Following The Wiz, Ms. Figgins moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. She  was cast in Walk Hard, starring John C. Reilly, and in her first music video “Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven, shortly after arriving in LA.  She had the wonderful opportunity to work and assist one of her idols, Hinton Battle, on Bolden! (2010) and  The Great Observer (2009), both directed by an up and coming director, Dan Pritzker.  Mr. Pritzker was so impressed by Ms. Figgins dancing, that he created a role for her in both films.

After filming Bolden!  and  The Great Observer, Ms. Figgins returned to LA and joined the cast of the Broadway bound musical Ray Charles Live!, directed by Sheldon Epps, at the Pasadena Playhouse.  The musical received the Best Equity Ensemble Award at the 2008 NAACP Theatre Awards.  She had the honor to perform at  the 80th Annual Academy Awards, in both Enchanted performances.  She is currently performing in  the musical Memphis, directed by Christopher Ashley, at the La Jolla Playhouse. 

Dionne Figgins resides in Los Angeles, where she teaches ballet at The Basement in North Hollywood and trains at the Aaron Speiser Acting Studio.