Dina's career is situated at the intersection of dance artistry/education, writing and community activism. After graduating with a B.F.A./Dance from The Juilliard School, Dina co-produced a dance concert of her own choreography in Tribeca, New York City. Her work has been called "hands down the audience favorite..an acrobatic tour-de-force," (Manhattan Mercury) "a delicious giggle...lyrical," (Ann Arbor News) and "a winner....gorgeous" (St. Louis Post Dispatch). Upon earning her M.F.A. at Arizona State, Dina steered her career towards education, serving on faculties in colleges, universities, high schools and community centers. In 1997, she received a Giraffe Award, given to activists who "stick their necks out," for her co-founding the S.P.R.A.Y. program, a community based arts program for underserved youth, funded by United Way. Since 2001, Ms. McDermott has served on faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, where she teaches the very youngest students ages 5-8.
Recently, McDermott has turned her focus to writing. In 2023, her children's picture book Tammy the Troll, A Dance in the Forest, was presented by Once Upon a Dance publishers. It was named a Recommended Read by Dance Teacher magazine and Mom's Choice Gold Level Awardee. Kirkus reviews called it "a delightful narrative....children will find the story charming." Reedsy Discovery gave it five stars. Previous to that, she self-published two adult, non-fiction books. A Dancer's Diary: Around the World in Thirteen Dances (2017) was a finalist for the American Legacy Books Awards/Performing Arts category. In 2021, Birds of a Feather, a memoir, was released. Her shorter pieces have been featured in The New Yorker, Woman Image Now, Contact Quarterly and criticaldance.org. Dina has attended writer's residencies in Finland, Costa Rica and at the Nantucket School of Design and the Arts.
When not writing or teaching, Dina can be found kakaying and birdwatching in the Pacific Northwest waterways near her home in Seattle. She has also kayaked in Mexico, Bali, Alaska and Canada.