Matthew Diamond (born November 26, 1951) is an American film and television director, producer and choreographer best known for directing Dancemaker.

Life and career

Matthew Diamond was born in New York City, the son of Irwin and Pearl (née Ziffer) Diamond. He graduated from City College of New York with a B.A. in 1972 and attended the School of Performing Arts in New York City. He began his career as a dancer with the Louis Falco Dance Company from 1970 to 1974, Jennifer Muller and the Works from 1975 to 1976 and the Batsheva Dance Company, Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1978. He was choreographer for the Bat–Dor Dance Company, and co-founded the dance company Diamond where he served as cofounder (with Maria Loffredo), artistic director, and choreographer from 1979 to 1983. He also served as opera director for Children's Free Opera in 1983.^[1] He also choreographed for dance companies including The Washington Ballet, Batsheva Dance Company and Bat-Dor Dance Company of Israel. Diamond's choreography has been presented at Carnegie Hall, Jacob’s Pillow and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.^[2] Choreographer Tere O'Connor danced in his company before becoming a choreographer on his own.

Diamond was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999 for directing the documentary film Dancemaker.^[3] As well as being nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, DGA Awards, he won a prize for his work at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Choreography

Selected works include:

• 3 of Diamond's, 1977
• Handful of Diamond's, 1978
• 3 by Matthew Diamond, 1978

Choreography for films includes:

• Phi Beta Rockers, 1982
• Splitz, Film Ventures International, 1984
• Maxie, Orion, 1985^[4]

Directing credits