Tamara Dyke-Compton

BFA The Juilliard School 2003
MFA The University of Arizona School of Dance 2013

Tamara Dyke-Compton is a Professor at the University of Arizona School of Dance in Tucson, Arizona. She teaches jazz technique, modern technique, teaching methods, choreography, jazz dance history, traveling ensemble and dance ensemble. Tamara earned her MFA in Dance, specializing in choreography and performance, from the University of Arizona in 2013 and her BFA from the Juilliard School in 2003. She served as Graduate Director/Coordinator for the School of Dance from 2020–2025 and as Associate Director from 2022–2025. She also served as Interim Artistic Director and Interim Associate Director for the School of Dance from 2021–2022.

Tamara served as Co-Director of Dance with her husband Christopher Compton at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado from 2015–2025 and now serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Summer Programming. Founded in 1913, Perry-Mansfield is one of the oldest performing arts camps in the United States and has long been a creative home for pioneering modern dance artists, choreographers, actors, musicians, and emerging interdisciplinary performers. Throughout her career, Tamara has taught and presented across the U.S. and Canada, contributing to organizations and programs including Dance Masters of America, Domaine Forget in Montreal, and The Dance Project. She has also taught at leading professional training centers including Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, The Ailey School, and the Red Rock Dance Festival. In her leadership role at Perry-Mansfield, Tamara curates summer programming and collaborates with nationally and internationally recognized artists and companies including Stacey Tookey and Still Motion, New Dialect under the direction of Banning Bouldin, Peter Chu and chuthis., Limón Dance Company, Yin Yue Dance Company led by Yin Yue, The Foundry directed by Alex Ketley, and The Company led by Jacob Jonas.

Tamara’s performance career includes principal roles in Twyla Tharp’s Broadway first national tour of “Movin’ Out” and the first national Broadway tour of “Fame” the musical. She has participated in various industrials, music videos, commercials, and benefits, sharing the stage with notable figures like Paula Abdul, Patti LaBelle, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Ted Danson. Tamara has worked with esteemed choreographers such as Michael Rooney, Marguerite Derricks, Jimmy Locust, and Joe Lanteri. She has been a company member with NOVA Ballet and Convergence Ballet in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as dancing with The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, performing works by choreographers including Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Peter Chu, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Amy Hall Garner, and Jose Limón.

Tamara’s choreography has been showcased at esteemed venues such as The Clark Studio Theatre in Lincoln Center, The Juilliard Theatre, DUMBO Dance Festival at The Gelsey Kirkland Theatre, and Mark Morris Dance Theatre. Her works have been featured globally, including performances with Ballet Jazz De Montreal in Quebec, Canada, Jazz World Congress in Tokyo, Japan, and Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, among others. Notably, her piece “Dead In the Shell” won Best In Fest at the Bell House Choreography Exchange in 2002.

During her academic journey at the University of Arizona, Tamara showcased her choreographic talent by choreographing shows for the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film, and Television, including the musicals “Nine” and “Batboy.” She also served as Co-Choreographer, collaborating with Christopher Compton Leanard Berstein’s Mass at Centennial Hall, in collaboration with True Concord, Jubilant Sykes, and James Clouser. Stravinsky’s Les Noces was co-choreographed with Elizabeth George-Fesch and presented in collaboration with The School of Music at the Stevie Eller Theatre in Tucson, Arizona, highlighting Tamara’s diverse choreographic contributions.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field, Tamara has received numerous prestigious awards, including the University of Arizona Five Star Faculty Award Finalist (2022) and Semi-Finalist (April 2021). She was also honored with the Emerging Scholar Award from The International Conference on Arts and Society at San Jorge University in Zaragoza, Spain, and another Emerging Scholar Award from the International Conference on Health and Wellness Society in Vancouver, Canada. Both awards acknowledge Tamara’s outstanding scholarship and potential for future accomplishments in her research. Tamara’s research, in collaboration with her colleague Christopher Compton, titled “The Mindful Dancer,” focuses on implementing mindfulness, healthy rhythms, and habits in the technique class.

Furthermore, she was bestowed with the Charles and Irene Putnam Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona in September 2021. During her graduate studies at the University of Arizona School of Dance in 2013, Tamara was honored with The Ralphie Spirit Award, recognizing qualities such as optimism, kindness, aspiration, a unique sense of self, and a noble attitude. These accomplishments reaffirm her dedication to excellence in choreography, scholarship, and teaching in the realm of dance and performing arts. In 2026, Tamara Dyke-Compton received the Extraordinary Faculty Award for Arizona Arts in recognition of the honor and distinction she brings to the University of Arizona.