Vale Diana de Vos OAM

The Royal Academy of Dance Australia is deeply saddened to share the passing of Life Member, RAD examiner, teacher, mentor and friend Diana de Vos OAM FRAD.

For decades, Diana was at the heart of the Royal Academy of Dance community in Western Australia. Her passion for ballet, dedication to teaching and unwavering commitment to the RAD shaped generations of dancers and teachers. Her influence extended not only across Australia but throughout the international dance community.

Diana began her dance training in Perth with Dorothy Flemming and Marina Beresowska, later studying with Janina Cuinovas, Joan Stacey, Gundhild Ferris and Kira Bousloff, and continuing her training in Melbourne with Rex Reid and Laurel Martyn. At just 15 years of age she became the youngest dancer in the West Australian State Ballet Company, later rising to soloist and principal dancer. During her performing career she also danced with companies in Sydney including the Victorian Ballet Guild, Northside Ballet Company, Dance Concert and the Kalinka Dance Company.

Teaching soon became the focus of Diana’s career. After beginning her teaching work in Perth and spending ten years teaching in Sydney, she returned to Western Australia in 1977 to teach at the Graduate College of Dance and later at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), where she continued to inspire and mentor countless dancers and teachers.

Diana’s connection with the Royal Academy of Dance was long and deeply significant. In 1982 she became a founding member of the WA RAD Advisory Panel, contributing many years of service to the organisation. In 1992 she became a Vocational Examiner for the RAD, travelling widely and sharing her expertise with students and teachers both in Australia and internationally.

She was also instrumental in creating opportunities for young dancers in Western Australia. Diana was one of the original founders of the Combined Schools Concert, which later evolved into the WA Festival of Dance and continues today as a much-loved event for dancers across the state.

Beyond the RAD, Diana made an extraordinary contribution to dance education more broadly. She co-founded Terpsichore Dance Centre with colleagues Leslie Hutchinson and June Stevens, taught as a sessional tutor at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and during her time living in Hanoi assisted the Vietnam College of Dance. In 2021 she was instrumental in establishing the WA Classical Ballet Teachers’ Association Incorporated and served as its inaugural Chairperson.

A lifelong learner, Diana pursued higher education alongside her teaching career. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia in 1991, majoring in History, English Literature and Music, and later completed a Master of the Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University in 2018, along with a Certificate IV in Vocational Education and Training.

Diana’s dedication to dance was recognised with numerous honours throughout her career. In 2012 she received the prestigious RAD President’s Award, and in 2015 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to dance. She was later made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2017. In recognition of her extraordinary contribution to ballet and to the RAD community in Western Australia, the WA RAD Student Awards were renamed the Diana de Vos Awards in 2018.

Diana’s love for ballet was evident in everything she did. She was passionate, thoughtful and endlessly generous with her knowledge. To so many within the RAD community she was not only a respected teacher and examiner, but also a mentor, supporter and dear friend.

Her legacy lives on in the countless dancers and teachers she inspired. She will be greatly missed by the Royal Academy of Dance community in Western Australia and around the world.