Deanna Kent

Deanna “Skydancer” Kent – born Diana Marcela Olea Rodriguez – started jumping at 15, and soon became a lieutenant in the Mexican Air Force. The then President selected her to tour the country doing a demo jump before his every speech, the only woman trusted with this honor. She was considered the most experienced skydiver in Mexico.

In 1982, Deanna gave birth to her only child Ramsey, shortly after that she created ‘Skydancing’ as she called it. She would design poses on the ground and take them to the sky. This forced husband/camera flyer, Norman Kent, to improve his flying skills to keep Deanna in frame, as most of her positions travelled across the sky and changed fall rate constantly. Thus, Deanna was a major force in the introduction and innovation of Freestyle adding an element of creativity to our sport in the eighties. Previously, the only freefall positions were belly or a style tuck.

Her passion, self-expression and unshakable belief paved the way for other disciplines such as Freeflying, Skysurfing, Angle Flying, etc, by opening our eyes to all that is possible when your mind is open creativity in human flight. Deanna ‘Skydancer’ Kent, showcased a new image of skydiving to the world, through Norman’s movies such as ‘From Wings Came Flight’, ‘Willing To Fly’, ‘Skydancer’, ‘Freefall’, stunt work in films and TV programs like Terminal Velocity, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Bay Watch, Japanese television shows, commercials, vignettes, and countless others. Tragically Deanna died in 1997 at age 40, from a rare disease, but not before her classic compositions of art, athleticism, body flight and dance had shaped a new era of ‘skydancing’ in the sport of skydiving.