Dayton Contemporary Dance Company brings the sounds and tastes of New Orleans to you at this year’s annual Soulstice: Beignets on the Bayou.

Hand your keys to the valet and step into the vintage atmosphere of America’s Packard Museum, 420 S. Ludlow Street, Dayton, OH, to be transported to the low country. The scents of zesty jumbalaya and a parade of beignets will fill the air and mingle with the notes of trumpets and horns from Dean Simms Satchmo Band & the Red Hot Second Line brass band! 

Mingle, beer or wine glass in hand, with the world-class dancers who captivate you on stage. Celebrate with us as we notch one more year on the road to our 50th anniversary.

While you’re enjoying the music, bid on an item or two in the silent auction. This year’s lineup includes a piece from James Free and Marlyn Jewelers, an in-home three- or four-course dinner for eight prepared by Chef David Glynn of Dayton Country Club, lodging for three nights at an upscale New Orleans hotel, and a Dayton Dragons luxury suite as well as local dining, spas, art and entertainment. A winning bid on a gemstone from Harris Jeweler includes a gift certificate to design your own custom piece of jewelry. Or win the opportunity to name a piece of DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs’ choreography.

The annual fundraising gala supports the stunning art you see on stage, from the costumes to the lighting to the commission of new works like Ray Mercer’s “This I Know For Sure,” which premiered in Dayton last month to a series of standing ovations.

Proceeds from the gala also support our top-tier arts-integrated education and community engagement programs, which reached more than 60,000 people last year, including 25,000 students. 

The evening will end with company dancers leading attendees in a traditional Second Line — you won't want to miss it! 

The ticket cost is $150. Get yours at ticketcenterstage.com or by calling 937-228-3630. For sponsorship opportunities or corporate tickets, call Jay Peterson at 937-228-3232 ext. 113.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company dancers will hit the studio floors this week as they prepare to launch the award-winning company’s 48th season, Story-Tellers.

This year’s performances will meld dance with spoken word as choreographers highlight the shared journey of African-American dancers and playwrights who struggled to tell their own stories on the public stage.

 

Studio 1

Studio 2

Studio 3

Studio 4

Studio 5

Studio 6

 

“This is the way we communicate our art,” Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. “We’re 48 years old - we have a lot to communicate.”

The season will kick off with “BodyTalk” Oct. 15 and 16 at the Mathile Theatre in the Schuster Performing Arts Center. The piece will focus on African-American playwrights’ role as the Griot -- a traveling poet and keeper of a community's oral history and truth in the West African tradition.

“The Griot is the historian of the village,” Assistant Artistic Director Crystal Michelle said. “He is the keeper of the oral tradition in West Africa and other regions - a poet and a musician.”

“Up Close and Personal” on Nov. 4 will offer the public a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the storytelling process of dance as they watch renowned choreographer Ray Mercer direct a live rehearsal. A catered lunch will be served in the DCDC studios.

DCDC’s holiday concert “The Littlest Angel” is slated for three showings on Dec. 2 and 3 at Boll Theatre on the University of Dayton campus. Adapted for the dance stage, Charles Tazewell’s story is about a young boy who enters heaven too soon but has in his possession a special gift for the Christ child yet to be born. New this year is the Angel Cafe - children will craft their own angel wings, decorate holiday cookies, sing Christmas carols and meet the dancers, including The Littlest Angel.

“Vantage Points: A Read Between the Lines” will show the storyteller’s point of view through a world premiere work from choreographer Ray Mercer on March 4 and 5 at Victoria Theatre. The evening lineup will also feature Donald McKayle’s Bessies award-winning “Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder.” The 1959 work, which depicts life on a chain gang, has been described as “searingly resonant” and DCDC’s portrayal as “expressive and earthy.”

The season will close with “About Being…” on March 24 and 25 at the Boll Theatre on University of Dayton campus. In “About Being…” DCDC’s preprofessional company will join UD Ensemble dancers as they explore the theme of self-definition, telling their own stories.

Tickets are available at ticketcenterstage.com com or by calling (937) 228-3630.

The proclamation recognized the dance company at the top of its 48th year for the recent reception of its second Bessie Award. The Tony or Oscar of the dance world, the prestigious, highly-coveted Bessie can only be awarded to companies performing in New York, and rarely does it go to a company based outside of New York, DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs told commissioners Wednesday night.

The 2016 Bessie Award for the outstanding revival of Donald McKayle 1959 work Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder is the second such accolade for DCDC. In 1997, veteran DCDC dancer Sheri “Sparkle” Williams received a Bessie award for outstanding performance by a solo artist.

Only five dance companies are licensed to perform McKayle’s iconic work, which depicts life on a chain gang in the American South. McKayle personally selected DCDC to perform the piece, cited by critics as “searingly resonant,” on NYC’s Lincoln Center stage in March.

The award-winning choreography will hit the Dayton stage this spring as part of the lineup for Vantage Points, which will be performed on the Victoria Theatre stage March 4 & 5.

The commissioners DCDC proclamation Wednesday night also recognized the history and impact of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, founded in 1968 by Jeraldyne Blunden to create an opportunity for African American dancers denied access to other studios.

Ohio’s oldest modern dance company, DCDC houses the world’s largest collections of works created by African American choreographers.

DCDC has represented the City of Dayton across the globe through performances in Bermuda, China, Chile, France, Poland, Russia, Germany and South Korea.

Favorite former dancers from Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will return to the stage for ONE NIGHT ONLY, joining current artists onstage to perform excerpts of 10 works spanning DCDC’s 50-year repertory.

Catch Reunited Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Victoria Theatre, located at 138 N. Main St. in Dayton. Tickets start at $14.50.

“To still have a legacy thriving after 50 years is something I’m not only proud of, but extremely excited about sharing with everyone,” DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said.

The evening of concert dance will feature works from each of the company’s three artistic directors: founder Jeraldyne Blunden, Kevin Ward, and Blunden-Diggs. It will also feature works from powerhouse choreographers in DCDC’s classic rep including Asadata Dafora & Donald Byrd, and works from today’s top choreographic names, including Ronen Koresh, Dwight Rhoden, Alvin Rangel & Ray Mercer.

“All you can really do in one performance is give a thumbprint of who we are,” Blunden-Diggs said. “Using the different artistic leaders as anchors, I pulled out some of the most memorable moments of those decades.”

The dances will be connected through a live storyteller — former WDTN news anchor Marsha Bonhart.

“Marsha has witnessed a lot of the things DCDC has done,” Blunden-Diggs said. “I was looking for a way someone could help us tell the story in more than one way, and she’s a wonderful host and moderator.”

To kick off the celebration as DCDC turns 50, the company will host The Gathering: A DCDC Family Reunion. Mingle with dancers, choreographers, teachers and patrons, old and new, Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at the DCDC studios, located at 840 Germantown St. in Dayton.

Tickets for Reunited and The Gathering are available here or by calling 937-228-3630.

Reunited is only the first in a series of special programming and events that will take place over the next two calendar years to celebrate DCDC’s 50th anniversary, Blunden-Diggs said.

For the latest opportunities to celebrate with us, connect with us on social media!

She was a woman ahead of the times — but she didn’t let those times hold her back.

Thursday, our Dayton Contemporary Dance Company founder Jeraldyne Blunden will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at YWCA Dayton’s annual Women of Influence Luncheon.

“She was an African-American woman in the 60s,” DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs recalled of her mother. “It was a tumultuous time — it’s true the 60s were about speaking out and revolution, but it was also a time of being pushed back.”

Most successful dance companies were started in large coastal cities, but Jeraldyne was “adamant” about building a nationally-recognized dance company right in Dayton, Ohio, Blunden-Diggs said.

“She planted her feet here, the roots here, and she saw no reason why a company of this caliber could not exist in a Midwestern region,” she said. “It’s always wonderful to have anybody’s lifetime body of work recognized.”

And the YWCA award comes as DCDC gears up to celebrate its 50th anniversary. 

“She had the vision and the strength to have this dream and forge ahead,” Blunden-Diggs said.

Jeraldyne died in 1999, but that vision lives on.

“It’s a precious gift to be able to carry and uphold that legacy, not because I made a deathbed promise, but because I want to,” Blunden-Diggs said.

As the company continues to forge ahead, the biggest challenge is to stay relevant in a world of rapidly changing technology, Blunden-Diggs said.

“You have to create a synergy around the company, so people will still come to the theatre,” she said. “Dance is not the same on video, television, streaming. There’s a fourth and fifth dimension when you experience it live.” 

YWCA Dayton has been recognizing Women of Influence since 1998. Honorees have impacted their communities through work that aligns with the organization’s mission to eliminate racism and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

Congratulations to fellow 2017 honorees — Judy Cook, former mayor of Oakwood; Carmen Gooden, co-founder and executive director of Linda Vista Inc.; Sandy Gudorf, president of Downtown Dayton Partnership; Amanda Wright Lane, international aviation advocate; Michelle Riley, CEO of The Foodbank; Maj. Wendy Stiver, Dayton Police Department; Stacy Thompson, vice president and regional manager for corporate responsibility banking at KeyBank. 

For over 50 years, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has not only embraced the art of dance and movement, but embodied the spirit of family and the human experience. In the last month we have all had to redefine what gathering looks like within the perimeters of social isolation. As dancers and as artists we have had to reinvent the way we create and the way we connect … with you, and with each other. 

From the beginning, Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs and the dancers knew that the best way to get through these troubled times was together. In the spirit of togetherness, DCDC has united the way families always do – warmly embracing connection and interaction, even if through a screen. We were unwilling to sacrifice our love of dance, and more importantly, our love for each other. So we gathered, as we always have, first to pray, and then to dance, and finally, to create. Together we have worked through how to recapture the human spirit, redefining what it truly means to be family.

Thanks to technology, we are still choreographing, dancing, growing, and learning. We take class together daily, we sweat together, and we cheer each other on. Dancers in the company have begun choreographing and workshopping new material in preparation for next season. Virtual rehearsals have offered a collaborative environment, where exploration is cultivated and celebrated. We continue to hold each other up, and in some ways, it has been nice to slow down and remind ourselves just how healing dance can be. The stories we are telling each other through the art of movement are redefining who we are … as people, as artists, as family. 

It has always been in DCDC’s nature to break boundaries and bring awareness to the barriers that seek to limit us. Throughout history, in times of peril and struggle, family ties become stronger, the love extends deeper, and compassion and understanding flourish with grace and mercy. The daily exploration of these emotions is what continues to make the spirit of DCDC prosper. As with any family we have leaned into each other for support and guidance. We have challenged ourselves to think outside of the box and expand our creativity. So, in these days of social distancing and separation we, along with the rest of the world, have found that we are reconnecting in ways that we never anticipated. Instead of growing apart, we are growing together. And together, we want you to know that just like family, we will continue to be there for you until we can all be together again, celebrating our human connections through the love of dance. 

We can’t wait to share with you all the exciting things that have been happening virtually since we have been working from home. We urge you to continue following us on any platforms that are accessible to you. We will be sharing clips from our daily company classes and rehearsals, as well as interviews with dancers, where you can get an “up close and personal” view on how company life has changed as a result of self-isolation. We are so proud of the work we continue to do, and in the spirit of Jeraldyne, we believe that through struggle, there is light. We still have many stories to tell.

"Man has created boundaries for race, religion, and culture. If wecan get past that, we can realize that there is much more in lifewhich connects us."

— JERALDYNE BLUNDEN

 

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle Perkins accepted a position this week as an Assistant Professor of Dance at The Ohio State University.

Perkins, who lectured at OSU during the 2016-17 season, will continue her duties as DCDC’s Associate Artistic Director, including choreographing a new work for the company’s fall concert.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Crystal and DCDC,” Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of this new adventure and all the possibilities it holds.” 

Perkins is also excited about the opportunity to continue the work of the company “through the lens of university research,” she said. 

“I’m looking forward to sharing the artistic practice I’ve learned here with my students and to having a seat at the table in a place that sees dance as a scholarly practice,” Perkins said.

An Augusta, Georgia native, Perkins earned her bachelor’s degree in dance performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in 2001. She also joined DCDC in 2001, first as a dancer, then as teacher, choreographer and dance education curriculum coordinator for the company. In 2013, she earned a master’s degree from The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance. In fall 2014, she stepped into her current role as DCDC’s associate artistic director. 

“She has been an exceptional asset to our company,” DCDC CEO Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders said. “We are so very proud and excited about the opportunity for her and for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, as this association with The Ohio State University dance department can only be an additional boon.”

As an independent choreographer, Perkins investigates the expectations and perceptions of African American Female bodies in popular culture. Through her work, she asks audiences to reconsider the race, gender and class boundaries that are placed on black women in performance. "I want my work to be a healing space for the performer, and the viewer," she said. "In my wildest dreams, these dances return the power of choice to the performer, and let us all imagine ourselves differently.”

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will again bring the classic endearing children’s book tale The Littlest Angel to the Dayton stage this holiday season 

DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs remembers her mother, DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden, reading the story to her when she was a little girl. Blunden-Diggs danced a version of the story in her early years with the company. When she decided to revive it, Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle choreographed the current evening-length work.

“I think it’s one of the most beautifully put together evenings of dance that tells a story,” Blunden-Diggs said. “The music she selected, the movement vocabulary inspired by words within the story — it’s really stunning.” 

The show will be performed at Boll Theatre in University of Dayton’s Kennedy Union on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at only $12.50.

“The ideas of tradition and heritage and culture are important,” Michelle said. “To hear feedback from people that something I created has become something people expect to do during the holidays with their loved ones — that The Littlest Angel is special in their life is special to me.”

Purchase tickets to the family show here or by calling the Ticket Center Stage box office at 937-228-3630.

Prorated season subscriptions are also available. These packages include tickets to the holiday show The Littlest Angel; the one-night-only Reunited, which will feature former DCDC dancers onstage with current company members to kick off DCDC’s 50th anniversary celebration; Transparency, an autobiographical collaboration between DCDC’s preprofessional company and University of Dayton’s Dance Ensemble; and Street Beats, an outdoor concert that will be danced in Dayton’s Courthouse Square.

 

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and The School for Creative and Performing Arts are partnering for a two week dance intensive. This prestigious program will take place July 15-26, 2019, 9:15a-3:45p at School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati. Students will explore Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, and Hip Hop dances as well as Pilates and Conditioning for dancers. All of the dance faculty will be curated by Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. 

Dancers entering grades 5-12 are welcome.

There will be a finale performance at SCPA on July 27 at 7 p.m. $125 for 1 week/$250 for 2 weeks of camp ($275 after June 1.); $50 a day; $15 per class. Advanced Registration Required. Payments can be made online or to the Artistic Department drop box at SCPA or at the box office between the hours of 12:00-5:00. Forms of payment accepted? Credit Card, Money Order, Cash (no checks) We can take any type of credit card. The box office manager, Denise Beauchamp, can take cash or money order (payable to SCPA) at the box office window between 12-5. For more information or to request application materials, contact Sara Swinehart at spcadcdcsummerintensive@gmail.com Sponsored by Mayerson Foundation 

Register Now!  

On January 26, 2019, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Artistic Director, was presented the fourth annual Black History Month Congressional Award for Community Service by Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) in recognition of 40 years serving the community through dance and dance education. After performing as a dancer of the company, Debbie Blunden-Diggs has served as Artistic Director of DCDC since 2007. 

The presentation was during the 31st Annual International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) Festival hosted in Dayton, Ohio. Debbie Blunden-Diggs is a member of the IABD Board of Directors and DCDC is a Founding Organizational Member.

 

On May 12, 2019 Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders, Chief Executive Officer, was bestowed an honorary doctorate degree from University of Dayton at spring commencement exercises. This honor is in recognition of Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders' many contributions to the vibrancy and culture of the Dayton community and the growth that of DCDC under her leadership.  

CEO since 2005, she continues to serve the community through numerous philanthropic activities and board positions and, in 2018, was honored by the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio as a Community Pillar.

In 1911, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8. It has been celebrated all over the world since then by multiple governments, organizations, and of course individuals who believe women’s equality is worth celebrating and advocating for. So, to celebrate today, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company invites you to reflect on our history of strong women and their legacy that still guides us today.

 

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s founder, Jeraldyne Blunden, began dancing ballet with the Schwartz Sisters’ dance school in 1950’s Dayton. As an African-American dancer, she found it difficult to find a company to dance with, especially in the Midwest. In 1963, she founded Jeraldyne’s School of Dance teaching ballet and modern to give African Americans a welcoming place to study the art of dance.

Desiring to give some of her more talented students the opportunity to perform, Jeraldyne decided to found her own dance company and bring in celebrated choreographers to create and set works on them. Unlike many of Jeraldyne’s contemporaries, she purposely chose not to name her company after herself but rather after her hometown and the city that gave her the platform she needed. In 1968, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company was born. 

From the beginning, Jeraldyne had plans to make DCDC a world-class dance company. To the disbelief of others around her, she began bringing in resident choreographers from cosmopolitan centers of arts and culture to the Midwestern city of Dayton to set works on the up-and-coming troupe. These works were extremely successfully by giving the company its premier notoriety and became the foundation of the company’s repertoire. 

As the company grew, so did Jeraldyne’s family and in 1972, those world began to overlap. At the age of 12, Jeraldyne’s daughter, Debbie, auditioned for the company and began dancing with the company the following season. Debbie danced with DCDC until 1996 after starting a family of her own.

In 1988, Jeraldyne went on to become one of only five founding members of the International Association of Blacks in Dance, all of which were women. Some of Jeraldyne’s other achievements, among others, include receiving The MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship Award in 1994, the Dance Women Living Legend Honors in 1997, the Katherine Dunham Achievement Award and the Dance Magazine Award, both in 1998. Jeraldyne was also awarded honorary doctorate degrees from University of Dayton and Wright State University.

Jeraldyne stayed as the company’s artistic director until her passing in 1999. She was able to see the company she founded go on their first international tours and traveled with them all over the world. After leaving the company, Debbie Blunden-Diggs worked as the director of the pre-professional company, DCDC2 and the Deputy Director of Arts and Administration. In 2007, she took the next step in her career and moved into the position originally held by her mother and continues that legacy today.

 

Since then, a third Blunden generation has entered the DCDC world. Debbie’s own daughter, Alexis Diggs, has been dancing since age three and after performing in the pre-professional concert her senior year of high school, she was offered a contract as a member of DCDC2. Alexis says that dancing with the first company would be hard work (especially since her mother is harder on her) but admits that if she was offered a position, she would probably move into that next role.

  

It is obvious that Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has a strong legacy of female leadership that continues today as shown by both the Artistic Director and CEO positions are held by women. We are proud to look at our past and current staff and know we have always been an organization that supports the leadership and equity of women.

Last weekend, April 7 & 8, DCDC Dancers Qarrianne Blayr & Countess V. Winfrey performed as guest artists in Howard University's spring dance concert, titled "Unjust." 

Qarrianne, an alumnus of Howard U, was thrilled to be back onstage at her alma mater, this time around as a professional in her chosen career! 

 

Qarrianne Blayr

Countess V. Winfrey

Howard U "Unjust"

Funnyhouse

 

The dance works in the concert explored themes ranging from gentrification to community-police relations. In the line-up, Qarrianne and Countess performed DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle's "Funnyhouse" — an excerpt from our fall 2016 concert "Body Talk", which explored works of African American playwrights, including Adrienne Kennedy's "Funnyhouse of a Negro."

Read more about the concert in this DC Metro Theatre Arts review.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will travel to Russia and Kazakhstan next season. 

DCDC is one of three dance companies across the United States tapped to tour internationally through the seventh season of DanceMotion USA, a dynamic cultural diplomacy program run through the U.S. Department of State and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

 

“This is an amazing opportunity to travel abroad,” DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. “Dance is a universal language. It’s always fun and exciting to experience our repertory in the eyes of an audience from a different country and background. Being able to exchange thoughts and ideas while there will serve our artists in a way we haven’t been able to do in quite some time.” 

DanceMotion USA presents professional American dance to global audiences who may not otherwise be exposed to the work. DCDC will travel to Russia and Kazakhstan in May 2018.

“As we are planning for the 50th anniversary celebration of our world-renowned dance company, this particular invitation is a special blessing of renewed spirit as our legacy continues,” DCDC CEO Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders said. “I’m excited for the dancers and for the exposure of our company to this world-wide audience. This kind of tour allows us to connect beautiful art to other cultures as we strive for knowledge and understanding of each other.” 

ABOUT DanceMotion USA

DanceMotion USA supports United States foreign policy goals by connecting Americans with overseas entrepreneurs and social leaders through professional development opportunities, outreach and educational events, and performances. It is a people-to-people international exchange initiative of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by BAM.

“We are honored to work with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on this dynamic program that promotes cross-cultural exchange and awareness of both our differences and our commonalities,” BAM President Katy Clark said. “DanceMotion USA is a prime example of the power of the arts to enhance people’s lives, provide educational opportunities, and reveal new ways of looking at the world.” 

Companies participating in the program will embark on consecutive, four-week-long international professional development and performance residencies. The dance artists engage in outreach events, workshops, master classes and media interviews. They organize discussions about arts management and technical production with local artists and audiences in a variety of venues and settings.

A particular area of focus is working with diverse communities and promoting the empowerment of women, people with disabilities, and at-risk youth. In addition, a week-long capacity-building and professional advancement program will take place at BAM in the summer of 2018. This Brooklyn-based program pairs six foreign artists who participated in workshops and collaborated with the DanceMotion USA companies abroad with six local artists.

“DanceMotion USA has a deep and tangible impact on the global communities it reaches. While engaging international audiences through dance, it fosters personal connections and makes the world a smaller place,” BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo added. “I know that our season seven participants will find their experiences expansive and rewarding, and I’m proud to join once again with our partners at ECA to make this program possible.”

To date, DanceMotion USA has engaged with more than 114,000 participants in 55 countries and has reached more than 40 million people online. It is an integral part of the US State Department’s effort to connect people—particularly youth and marginalized communities—through cultural exchanges worldwide. The program also has provided rich experiences for the US-based dance companies and choreographers, who advance their own careers and professional development opportunities through their work with internationally-based artistic colleagues.

Also traveling abroad through DanceMotionUSA next year are Bebe Miller Company of Columbus, heading to Columbia and Peru; and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company of Salt Lake City, heading to South Korea and Mongolia.

Companies that have participated in previous seasons of DanceMotion USA include Urban Bush Women; ODC/Dance; Evidence, A Dance Company; Jazz Tap Ensemble; Rennie Harris Puremovement; Seán Curran Company; Trey McIntyre Project; Doug Varone and Dancers; Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; Illstyle and Peace Productions; Spectrum Dance Theater; Mark Morris Dance Group; CONTRA-TIEMPO; David Dorfman Dance; BODYTRAFFIC; Dance Heginbotham; Limón Dance Company; KEIGWIN + COMPANY; Stephen Petronio Company; and Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group.

As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company is throwing a free concert for the community in downtown Dayton’s Courthouse Square.

Miami Valley Dance Company will be presenting a work choreographed for the company by DCCD Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs to Stevie Wonder’s “Shining Star.” It is the fifth work she has done for them, Miami Valley Dance Company Artistic Director Terri Manning said. They’ll also present a work titled “No Exit” by MVDC co-director Lily Seitter.

“We’ve had a long relationship with Debbie,” Manning said. “We’re thrilled to be included in Street Beats and we’re looking forward to the outdoor venue.”

The interactive children’s stage which will feature performances by the Dayton Gem City Jumpers and Jeraldyne’s School of Dance. Dayton Gem City Jumpers will also offer jump rope workshops and Jeraldyne’s School of Dance will offer classes. Skull Dollz will offer face painting. A variety of other children’s activities, including sidewalk chalk, will also be available.

“Come enjoy the beat in the street as we close our 49th season and gear up for the celebration of the 50th,” Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. “This free concert is our way to say thank you for support.”

Food trucks, including El Meson food truck, will be onsite. Attendees should bring lawn chairs or blankets and photo IDs. Pets and coolers are prohibited.

Street Beats is sponsored by Wright State University & Media Sponsor Synchrony Financial.

Gravity-defying dance, eye-opening collaboration and heartwarming reunion will mark Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 49th season, Lineage.

 

The season kicks off with Wynton Works, a salute to jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, performed on the Victoria Theatre Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. The Dayton Jazz Ensemble will join DCDC onstage, where dancers will perform new original works by Stafford Berry and DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle. Dancers Qarrianne Blayr and Countess V. Winfrey will also join forces to choreograph a new work in collaboration with DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs. 

“As a collaborator, Wynton Works is another opportunity to do my favorite thing — collaborate with other artists and art forms to present what we do,” Blunden-Diggs said.

Catch a sneak peek behind the scenes in our studios, located at 840 Germantown St., Thursday, Sept. 21, at the season’s first Up Close & Personal event. A light lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

DCDC will take the stage again in December with The Littlest Angel, Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at University of Dayton’s Kennedy Union Boll Theatre. The annual holiday concert sets to dance Charles Tazewell’s classic children’s book tale of heaven’s youngest angel and the season’s spirit of giving. 

In Reunited, past and present DCDC dancers will join forces onstage for one night only, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre, to kick off the company’s 50th anniversary year! The lineup of historically groundbreaking works will carry the audience through DCDC’s five decades and highlight the continuing vision that will carry it through five more.

“Seeing faces, old and new, is always really stimulating,” Blunden-Diggs said. “The audience will receive some very special gifts.”

Transparency will once again showcase DCDC2, the preprofessional training company, and the University of Dayton Dance Ensemble Friday, March 22, 2018 and Saturday, March 23, 2018 at 8 p.m. at UD’s Kennedy Union Boll Theatre. Former DCDC dancer and current UD Theatre, Dance and Performance Technology DCDC Artist in Residence Amy Jones will lead the collaboration.

Catch a sneak peek at the collaborative process in University of Dayton’s Raymond L. Fitz Hall Black Box Theatre, Friday, March 9, 2018, at the season’s spring Up Close & Personal. Light refreshments will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m. Space is limited. 

DCDC’s annual fundraising gala, Soulstice, will be held at the Dayton Art Institute Friday, April 13 from 7 to 11 p.m. This year’s theme: A Masked Affair. Accessorize accordingly.

In May, the company will travel to Russia and Kazahkstan through DanceMotion USA, a U.S. State Department cultural exchange program. The trip will present DCDC an opportunity “to once again share our work globally,” Blunden-Diggs said.

Upon return, we’ll celebrate with the third revival of our free summer concert, Street Beats, this time held in Courthouse Square, Saturday, June 9 from 5 to 9 p.m. Eat, drink and dance in the heart of our innovative and vibrant city. The event will also feature children’s activities, so bring the whole family! 

Full-season subscriptions are 35 percent off until Aug. 15. In addition to traditional full-season packages, a flex package is also available this year — purchase 6, 8 or 10 tickets and spread them out across the season, or invite a group of friends to one or two shows! Visit ticketcenterstage.com or call the box office at 937-228-3630.

This year's summer intensive will be offered one week from July 7th - 13th. Students MUST be registered by July 3rd in order to participate. All students must have a completed Registration Form (linked below) and the nonrefundable deposit of $50 upon registration. This deposit will go toward tuition. Jeraldyn's School of Dance is located at 840 Germantown Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Please call 937-223-5312 or e-mail jsofdance@gmail.com with any questions. 

 

Click Here for Registration Form

Click Here for Intensive Schedule 

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will perform at the Gospel Brunch of the 2017 5th annual Ohio Black Dance Festival on Sunday, Sept. 10 at the JH Ross Family Life Center in Columbus, Ohio.

"It's always a pleasure to be able to support dance, especially black dance," DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. "DCDC is almost 50 years old, and this work goes back to our foundation."

Ohio Black Dance Festival is a multicultural dance festival that provides a platform for dancers of color and promotes the African American contribution to the American Dance Tradition. 

The organization's mission is to cultivate a diverse community focused on the advancement of African American dance artist and culture. It was established in 2011 by Columbus native, dancer and choreographer Lawrence T. Lemon, who wanted to show Ohio the wealth of talent in the state in the underrepresented field of African American dance. 

This year's festival theme is Faith, Foundation, Future. It will feature dance artists, companies, schools and studios throughout Ohio.

The festival kicks off Friday, Sept. 8 at the King Arts Complex with a youth and community showcase, followed by a panel discussion with dance professionals on the topic "Black Dance Matters: Keeping Black Dance Alive." DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle will sit on the panel. 

It continues Saturday. Sept. 9 with master classes at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center. Teachers include DCDC's Crystal Michelle. Charmella Wilks, DeShona Pepper Robertson, Lawrence T. Lemon, Terence Greene, Ndeye Sy and Master Drummer Balla Sy. Dance techniques will include ballet, modern, liturgical and West African, among others.

Saturday will also include the first Ohio Black Dance Ensemble audition.  

The day will conclude at King Arts Complex with the Ohio Black Dance Concert at 8 pm.

The festival will conclude Sunday with the annual Gospel Brunch at the JH Ross Family Life Center. DCDC will perform Blunden-Diggs work "In my Father's House," set to music by Kirk Franklin and the Family.

For more information on the festival, contact Lemon at www.ohioblackdance.org.

It is hard to ignore the environment that the world has come to. As an artist, it is trying on my soul, because my soul yearns for new and inviting ideas to keep me creating. I am constantly moving because I am ready to work and construct the next story to tell. But this time of social distancing has given me the chance to sit, listen, and be patient. This pause has given me the time to learn who I am as an artist and what I need to be the greatest I can be. As a first-year JB fellow in a prestigious modern black dance company, my individual voice is important. Dayton Contemporary Dance Company bleeds the individual voices of its company members and that contributes to the overall mission of the company and our work within the African-American experience.

In these times, I can’t escape the thought that the world feels like it’s ending. That idea is knocking at the front door of my consciousness. In this time, I have learned to give myself the freedom to exist, unapologetically. How do I survive as an artist? When anxiety is at its highest, I dance in the tight spaces of my bedroom. When I am full of artistic passion, I create choreography to songs that are unpredictable. I listen to diverse music to strike new ideas, and then explain them in length to anyone who will listen. I record myself dancing and then post the videos on social media without the constructive critique of my training. I recite, read, and sing the serenity prayer multiple times throughout the day just to give myself spiritual peace. I talk to myself about how I feel. 

But while I move in the small apartment that I call home, I also sit still and self-reflect. In our busy world, self-reflection is often long overdue. I have thought about the negative thoughts that affect my viewpoint as an artist and I meditate on the times when I have been unaccepting of my gift, and I am working on ways to use everything that I have been given and everything that I’m feeling. This time in quarantine, unwanted or not, has allowed me the time to see what I need. In my opinion, it has been the best self-care so far. As an artist, I am using other creative outlets like writing and learning new crafts like string art. Those things have brought me back to myself and given me some clarity about my artistic goals. This clarity has given my soul the chance to saaaaaaang. I now have the language to communicate what my movement has always been trying to say to me...to others. Like I said before, the black voice is ever so powerful, and I am learning more about my voice in this moment. Finding my voice allows me to stand with the many voices of the company which helps push the beauty of Black life forward. I constantly remind myself that “I am because we are, and because we are, therefore I am.” 

The Bessie award-winning Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will again bring the classic endearing children’s book tale The Littlest Angel to the Dayton stage this holiday season.

The second work in the company’s 2016-17 Story-Tellers season, DCDC dancers will use movement to translate Charles Tazewell’s words, telling the story of a child who enters heaven and offers a gift to the Christ child that transforms the meaning of giving and sacrifice.

DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs remembers her mother, DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden, reading the story to her when she was a little girl. Blunden-Diggs danced a version of the story in her early years with the company. When she decided to revive it, Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle choreographed the current evening-length work. 

“Every year I look at the work, I realize something different about myself,” Michelle said. “This year, it’s that I’m obsessed with angels. No one knows what it is to be an angel. It’s a dimension we don’t have access to, and that leaves a lot of space for imagination.”

The show will be performed at Boll Theatre in University of Dayton’s Kennedy Union on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. 

“People love that it snows,” Michelle said. “The tableaus with the dancers and the voice of the narrator bring the story to life in a way that reminds us of our parents telling a story. We settle into that childlike experience when watching.” 

Families can make the enchanting story come to life further with a visit to the Angel Cafe Friday, Dec. 2 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. or Saturday, Dec. 3 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Children will meet The Littlest Angel as they make angel wing crafts, sing favorite Christmas carols and enjoy hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. Attendees will also take home a commemorative keepsake ornament. The cost to attend the Angel Cafe is $10 per ticket.

For more information on the family show, visit dcdc.org. Purchase tickets at ticketcenterstage.com or by calling the Ticket Center Stage box office at 937-228-3630.

Prorated season subscriptions are also available. These packages include tickets to the holiday show The Littlest Angel; Vantage Points, our March show on the Victoria Theatre stage that will showcase “searingly resonant” award-winning work and a brand-new piece by a renowned New York choreographer; and About Being, an autobiographical collaboration between DCDC’s preprofessional company and University of Dayton’s Ensemble dancers that will explore story circles. 

For a sneak peek of the holiday show, check out #LittlestAngel on our social media accounts. 

Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders, CEO of the world-renowned, Bessie award-winning Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), is one of 50 business leaders from across the globe chosen to participate in the National Arts Strategies’ prestigious Chief Executive Program: Community & Culture. 

Throughout the next year, Hawes-Saunders will travel to Harvard Business School and University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business to learn about new tools and strategies that will help her implement new ideas right here in Dayton.

“You come to a juncture in your professional career when you need to grow and develop at another level,” Hawes-Saunders said. “I am confident this program will allow that.”

Hawes-Saunders is an advocate and steward of minority- and women-owned businesses. In 1991, she built Dayton radio station WROU from the ground up before purchasing WRNB radio station three years later. One of fewer than 10 African-American women in the nation to build and own broadcasting property, she received several national accolades before selling her stations and stepping into the role of CEO at Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in 2005.

Over her last decade with the company, she forged new partnerships with area colleges and universities and built a board of directors representing diverse ethnic backgrounds and professional expertise. Through the CEO program at NAS, she will learn new strategies to implement capacity-building campaigns and engage wider audiences with the arts.

She was selected from a pool of more than 150 applicants from 34 states and 18 countries. Participants are identified as effective, innovative, collaborative and curious cultural leaders whose organizations work closely with their communities.  

Hawes-Saunders is one of only two Ohioans selected for the program. Joining her is WYSO Public Radio’s Neenah Ellis. Since coming to Yellow Springs in 2009, Ellis has worked to engage citizens with the station by training more than 100 people, from students to veterans to female inmates, how to record for radio.

Other participants in the NAS Chief Executive Program include nonfiction filmmakers, dancers, jazz musicians, art curators, exiled writers, Pacific Island media specialists and rural artists who use art as an economic development tool, among others. Through the program, Hawes-Saunders’ professional collaborative network will grow to include these individuals as well as 200 other alumni of the NAS Chief Executive Program.

“I am thrilled to be with a group of exceptional thought leaders and arts administrators who have lent their expertise to enhance the voice of the arts world,” she said.

The Engaging Dance Audiences grant is administered by Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance, and generously funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The grant program, which focuses on refining and sharing dance audience engagement practices, awarded $1,112,000 in total funding this year to 21 organizations across 11 states.

“Dance is communication through movement,” DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said. “It’s an extraordinary way to cross boundaries.”

DCDC won grant funding for its Young, Gifted & Black tour, designed to reach HBCU campuses through mainstage dance concerts and accompanying residency activities, such as master classes and audience talkbacks.

Since launching the touring program in 2015, DCDC has performed at 11 historically black colleges and universities across eight states. The infusion of Dance/USA grant dollars will allow DCDC to partner more deeply with the colleges — advance visits with faculty will enable DCDC leaders to further tailor residency activities to the individual campuses. 

“Because we are rooted in the African American experience, it is important that we serve this population, some of whom might not have had the opportunity to be exposed to the contemporary dance art form, from the perspective of the African American diaspora,” Blunden-Diggs said.

Other programs receiving funding next season partner with middle schools, community colleges, museums, churches, neighborhood advisory committees, city agencies, parks and cultural centers to reach African, Asian, Latino, Native American, LGBTQ, Muslim and incarcerated individuals. Dance genres include African, ballet, Bharatanatyam, hip-hop, Irish, Mexican folkloric, Odissi, samba, stepping and tap, among others. See all grantees here: https://danceusa.org/eda-round-4-grantees

“This new round of Dance/USA EDA funding reaches a robust mix of forms, geographies and communities of concern, vividly illustrating the variety of settings within which audiences can connect to dance,” said Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. “We are pleased to support Dance/USA in sustaining and growing the vibrancy of dance in communities around the country.”

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Michelle VanHuss was sworn in Monday night to the Centerville Arts Commission. 

VanHuss is the Director of Touring and University Initiatives at DCDC, working regularly with our three university partners, Central State University, University of Dayton, and Wright State University. One reason VanHuss and her husband, Will, chose to make Centerville home was because of the community’s support for the arts, she said. She has taken her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, to free concerts and art exhibits sponsored by the commission. “I grew up dancing,” VanHuss said. “But all of the arts are important. Something about different art forms speaks to different individuals. It’s great that the Centerville Arts Commission is able to support free opportunities for people to engage with the arts.” The Centerville Arts Commission is a 15-member volunteer organization dedicated to involving citizens with visual and performing arts. Members are appointed by the City Council. As she is on the road with DCDC, VanHuss hopes to also cross paths with artists who can bring fresh talent and perspectives to Centerville. VanHuss earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts and her teaching certification from the New World School of the Arts, and she completed her master’s degree in public administration at Wright State University. She has been active in arts advocacy at the local, state and national levels. “Right now arts are being put under the microscope,” she said. “Children should be exposed to art — whether it deepens understanding of a subject matter or creates a space for personal expression, being involved in art creates a sense of community. t’s not better or worse than anything else, but it needs to be included because if it speaks to you, it speaks loudly. Art is a lifeline sometimes.” DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs is excited to see VanHuss join the commission. “She’ll do marvelous job,” Blunden-Diggs said. “All the things she brings to the table for DCDC she will bring to arts commission.”

Longtime Dayton Contemporary Dance Company dancer Sheri “Sparkle” Williams is the 2017 recipient of the OhioDance Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of the Dance Art Form. 

The award recognizes choreographers and dance artists dedicated to both the creation of new work and the preservation of dance history. Williams will receive the award on stage Saturday, April 29 at the BalletMet Performance Space in Columbus during the 2017 OhioDance Festival. 

Williams has been dancing with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company for 43 years. The award is well-earned, DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said.

“Anybody who has been able to sustain a career like Sheri — it’s amazing and long overdue,” Blunden-Diggs said. 

A Dayton native, Williams began dancing at age nine when she followed her best friend, Thelma, to a ballet class taught by DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden. Within two weeks, Williams was taking all the classes Jeraldyne offered.

“I liked moving, the flow, learning to use the body differently,” Williams recalled. “In little old Dayton, Jeraldyne made it happen, and we ate it up.” 

The dance performances that most impacted her were Ulysses Dove’s Vespers, now a modern classic, and Dwight Rhoden’s Growth, a solo work that was originally choreographed for a man but has since been performed internationally by Williams. 

In 2012, Williams was the subject of the documentary film “Sparkle,” which followed her recovery from an onstage hip injury that nearly ended her dance career. The documentary won the Audience Award at the AFI SilverDocs Film Festival. 

Throughout her career, Williams has picked up numerous other accolades, including a coveted New York Dance & Performance Award (the Bessie) in 2002 and the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award in 2014. 

“I’ve been lucky to nurture audiences through the years, right here at home,” Williams said. “Anytime someone even thinks I should be the recipient of an award — I’m honored.”