A Brief History of DCDC 2 variously called at different times Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company, or Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II, and even Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2. But currently known as: DCDC2/Pre-professional ensemble, or you may use the affectionate nickname d2
The second company from its founding in 1975 (some records show 1972) has served as a training ground for younger dancers not quite ready for the first company. Over its nearly five-decade coexistence with the 1st company, D2 has welcomed approximately 313 young dancers. Early on, 2nd company welcomed dancers as young as 11 years old, although this is no longer the case. And while there is no official maximum age limit, dancers tend to be undergraduate and graduate students. Nor has there been a set number of dancers in D2. The company has been as small as 6 members (2017 -2018) and as large as 25 (1997-1998 and 2009 -2010) 1. Some years D2 included apprentices. In the early years these were beginning dancers who showed aptitude and desire. More advanced D2 members often were apprenticed to the first company. The company kept their own class, rehearsal and performance schedule independent of the first company, but would, on occasion study, rehearse, and perform with the first company, in particular DCDC Children’s Concerts and “In the Spirit of…”. There was no set number of years required membership with d2 before you were ‘graduated’. Many d2 members were taken into the first company upon auditioning in subsequent years; many others were not. And many more found professional employment in other dance companies across the nation. Dancers joined d2 coming from Jeraldyne’s School of Dance or other dance schools; they joined as a result of DCDC’s relationships with local university dance departments (Wright State University and University of Dayton) and they came from other university programs (CCM at University of Cincinnati). They also came from distant cities, and states attracted initially to join the first company, but willing to train in the second company in the hopes of eventually landing a full position with the professional company.
DCDC2 has had 7 directors 2., 8 if you include founder Jeraldyne Blunden. Kim Carter from the beginning to 1982; Kevin Ward 1982 – 1989; Debbie Blunden-Diggs 1989 – 2000; Shonna Hickman-Matlock 2000 – 2014 and 2015 to the present; Amy Renee Jones and Rebecca Sparks 2014 – 2015. Warren Dixon served as d2 company assistant under Debbie Blunden Diggs and Shonna Hickman- Matlock. All directors were first company members, and most often, in the 80s and 90s, still performing with D1.
D2 directors’ responsibilities included scheduling and overseeing the training of dancers either directly or by enlisting other teachers. Technique classes were led by Jeraldyne, first company instructors and members, including Dawn Carter, Jon Rodriguez, Bess Saylor-Imber, Gregory Robinson, James Truitte, Rochelle Zide-Booth and Kathleen Ireton. 2 Most often dancers studied ballet, modern (Horton) and jazz techniques, similar to first company classes. Those were supplemented by classes in mime, folkdance, African, Flamenco, tap, ballroom, swing, hip hop, acting, and make-up.
DCDC2’s work schedule has evolved over the years. During the 80’s they began their work day at 6:00 PM with a technique class followed by rehearsal 7:30 until 9:30, Monday through Thursday (Jeraldyne insisted they have Friday off because many extracurricular high school activities happened then – games, proms, parties, socials, etc.); on Saturday they sometimes took class with first company in the morning followed by a separate afternoon rehearsal. Later on d2’s schedule shifted to Tuesday through Saturday. Following the pandemic of 2020, they moved to a 3-day schedule, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, to better accommodate older D2 dancers’ need for gainful employment outside the company and/or their responsibilities at universities.
Performance schedule
DCDC II directors, sometimes in consultation with DCDC Artistic Director, programmed, commissioned and cast the ballets. Directors also restaged 1st company ballets on d2. There were occasions of the reverse – d2 ballets restaged on the first company. We will discuss those later. D2 directors were also talented choreographers in their own right, and created many ballets for the training company. Emerging choreographers within the ranks of the first company also created work, and indeed d2 became a nursery for them.
DCDC2 is appointed to be the local performing ambassadors for the organization. Therefore, they represent DCDC in all manner of settings, some conducive to dance performance, but many not. Performing on equipped and appropriate stages has been more the exception. However, by design, part of the training they receive is the all-important skill of flexibility demanded of every dancer worthy of their salt – paying your dues. But even so, there were many spaces rejected – dangerously cold or hot, too tiny, ruined carpeting, warped and heavily splintered and pocked floors, chipped and broken concrete and linoleum, exposure to the elements, leaking ceilings, exposed wiring and plumbing, and lack of bathroom facilities. Mind you, these were only the absolute worst spaces to be avoided. Other spaces where the company performed just barely passed muster. (I will pause here to state that first company was exposed to many of these same situations, which in turn necessitated the creation of strict performance riders appended to presenter contracts). But perform D2 did, and most excellently at indoor and outdoor events; church basement teas, summer festivals, school gyms and recreation centers were just some of the places where dancers paid their dues. Performances were rarely longer than 1 hour, and had minimal technical support. Most often there were no printed programs, the directors introducing the ballets and speaking between dances. Lest this sound too grim and grueling, d2 dancers learned important skills of adapting to less than optimal situations, simultaneous with delivering remarkable and stirring performances to their audiences. Other ancillary, but important learned skills included how to properly lay and tape a dance floor, insure unobstructed crossovers, ironing, steaming and mending costumes, gelling and focusing lights, and setting up sound systems. They would take these lessons with them everywhere they went.
Other performance situations were markedly better, many on professional stages in Dayton, throughout Ohio and on tour outside the state. Indeed, everywhere D1 performed locally, D2 did as well – Blair Hall, Victoria Theatre, Memorial Hall, Boll Theatre, DAI Renaissance Auditorium, Convention Center, Masonic Temple, Kuss Auditorium, Jarson-Kaplan and the Schuster Center. 3
DCDC II carries a regular slate of performances. In early years this included DAI Oktoberfest, Masquerage, Twentig Inc. Currently, as of this writing, you can see D2 annually at the following: UD Celebration of the Arts and Christmas on Campus, UD and WSU Spring Dance Concerts as well as at their own self-produced home concerts. The company has performed regularly at Dayton Correctional Center for the last 10 years. 3
DCDC2 has been a primary collaborator with other local dance groups. Of special note was a particular program variously called Afternoon of Dance, Dance for Four, Dance 4/3, and Dance, Too. These were concerts D2 performed initially with Dayton Ballet’s second company, directed by Camille Izard, and Dance Theatre Dayton, a local jazz dance group under the direction of Debbie Derado (1986). Later collaborators included Gary Geis Dance Company, Gem City Ballet, WSU Dance Department, Ballet de Jeunesse, South Dayton Dance Theatre, The Chamber Dance Ensemble, OSU Dance Company, and UD Dance Ensemble. What all these partnerships had in common was to provide opportunity for pre-professional dancers to shine in professional settings without the added stress of carrying a full 90-minute concert by themselves. They also allowed organizations to share the costs of production, marketing and box office, thereby reducing individual organizational expenses. 3
Apart from the above jointly produced programs, d2 has been a guest of other arts organizations. Those include the Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, Dayton Opera, Ballet Tech in Cincinnati, the Taft Museum in Cincinnati. They have been presented as well by Wright-Dunbar Business Village, and TEDxDayton 2015.
D2 has performed throughout Ohio, and on tour to Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan and Kentucky. They have performed at the following universities and colleges: Bluffton University, Anderson University, Clark State, Ohio State University, Central State, Edison State Community College, Wittenberg University, UD, WSU and Sinclair College as well as Stivers School of the Arts. 3
Repertory
DCDC II has amassed a repertory list of over 200 ballets 4 (and counting) from choreographers representing a broad spectrum of styles and techniques. They have mostly been original works. Choreographers include first company dancers Alvin Rangel, Daniel Marshall, Demarcus Akeem Suggs, Elizabeth Ramsey, Linda Graham, Matthew Talley, William McClellan, and Veronica Green; future directors of their own dance companies: Allyne Gartrell, Cecil Slaughter, David Reuille, Dwight Rhoden, Robert Priore; guest choreographers include Gregory Robinson, James Truitte, Dino Anderson, Bess Saylor-Imber, and Sharon Leahy. Works created for first company, and other dance companies, restaged on D2 include: Afternoon, Evening after Midnight (Bess Saylor-Imber), Black Voices (Milton Myers and James Truitte), Salome’s Daughters (Nejla Yatkin) and With Timbrel and Dance Praise His Name (James Truitte). The inverse, D2 originals restaged on first company, has included: Grace and Mercy and No Room No Place No Where (Debbie Blunden-Diggs), and Alma Anaranjodo (Maurice Watson).
Education outreach
D2 provides education outreach through Muse Machine (work originally performed by the first company) and through DCDC’s own channels. This takes the form of in-school lecture demonstrations, often aligned with school curriculum, for school age audiences. The company has also provided master classes in dance/movement techniques giving D2 members the opportunity to teach. Special mention should be made for the Abby and Her Friends…programs, available live and digital, created by current D2 director Shonna Hickman-Matlock.
Regional Dance America (formerly National Association for Regional Ballet)
In the early 70’s DCDC became the first African-American dance company admitted to the National Association for Regional Ballet. We were in the Northeast region that included Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, along with Washington, D.C. Fun fact: The national board of NARB attempted to place DCDC within the Mid-States, a small and fledgling region at the time. Jeraldyne fought this because we came into the organization under the sponsorship of Josephine Schwarz and the Dayton Ballet, a method of building membership Jeraldyne would adopt in sponsoring other Ohio dance companies. A ruling against DCDC would mean that only Dayton Ballet would be in the Northeast region (Schwarz was a founding member), and all subsequent Ohio dance companies, e.g. Canton Ballet, South Dayton Dance Theatre, Dayton Conservatory Dance Company, and DCDC, would remove to the Mid-States. As Mid-States ranges west to Colorado and north to the Dakotas, DCDC is geographically and spiritually closer to the Northeast. And it is because of Jeraldyne’s insistence, Ohio remains in the Northeast region.
Anyway, d2 began travelling to the festivals along with first company, and eventually second company became sole representative of DCDC in RDA/NE. This occasioned another battle regarding company ranking. Each company in RDA was ranked as either non-performing, apprentice, performing, honor or major status (all ranking has since been removed). First company had earned major status, but when d2 became sole representative, DCDC was downgraded to performing. One of the last RDA/NE festivals the company participated in was hosted by Canton Ballet. D2 performed as a member and first company performed as special guest. Eventually DCDC left RDA to better focus on touring and positioning the company as a key African American arts organization.
D2 also attended the Craft of Choreography Conferences, sponsored by RDA, in Geneva, NY. These conferences were created by Josephine Schwarz as a means to train and encourage young choreographers.
Beyond D2
DCDC2 is a training ensemble. As much as we’ve all enjoyed and benefitted from the work produced by these remarkably gifted young men and women, they must move on to the next stages of their careers. In the five plus decades we have been successful in sending dancers onto professional careers as dancers, educators, choreographers and founder-directors of their own companies. 5 This includes: 42 second company dancers went on to join first company; former d2 members could be seen in 73 other professional dance companies; they joined the casts of over a dozen Broadway/Regional theatrical productions from Chorus Line to Wicked; they’ve appeared in dinner theatres, on cruise ships, theme parks, Las Vegas, and Cirque de Soleil. Several are associate professors of dance at universities and colleges; a few hold executive positions in other organizations; others have crossed over into acting on stage, TV and film (West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast, House of Cards, Law and Order); and 11 have founded their own dance companies. Others have established themselves in arts management, physical therapy, non-profit support, and social work.
We are immensely proud and grateful for our DCDC2 members. As much as any other part of the big DCDC family they continue to inhabit the passion and to carry the legacy established over 5 decades ago by Jeraldyne Blunden.
- appendix: company listing
- appendix: company leadership faculty staff and guests
- appendix: annual performances
- appendix: company repertory
- appendix: D2 alumni