“Our goal is to invite everyone into a very special space we create for our audiences,” said DCDC Chief Executive and Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs, daughter of DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden. “It feels embracing. We tell our stories. A lot of our work can be seen as abstract, but they are the stories we tell. You may not like everything on our program but there will be something you like on our program, which is the magic of being a repertory company. We get to dance many stories by many people, and we tell them from the Black experience.”
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Evans’ phenomenal work, which will open the program, is a bold, fierce contemporary commentary addressing “bodily surrender, openness and Black spirituality.” His artistry is heightened by the music of Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who will perform the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2025.
“Tommie is a choreographer for our time,” Blunden-Diggs said. “‘Home’ is a piece that speaks to the urban knowledge of the (Black experience). It talks about family, community and all the things we are.”
She also noted Berry’s piece was originally a part of a collection of works the company presented that incorporated the music of Wynton Marsalis.
“We have built a long relationship with Stafford and it’s just incredible to watch him work with our dancers,” Blunden-Diggs said.
‘DCDC is part of the Dayton community’
Elizabeth Ramsey, a Toledo native and Wright State University graduate, is entering her eighth season with the company. She’s excited to perform Evans and Berry’s works again with a renewed perspective grounded in empathy and introspection.
“Returning to a work allows you to take a second look while you’ve had some distance from it,” she said. “I can re-tackle Tommie’s work from a different angle because I’m a different person than I was from even last season. His work is really beautiful, and it’s really cool to dance to Kendrick Lamar’s music, which I feel is also exciting for the audience. Stafford’s work is emotionally heavy because what is discussed is very powerful, especially due to the natural disasters we have had recently. It’s not an accident we are performing these works. Performing Stafford’s work has forced me to empathize in a way only an artist can because we are given the time and space to (visualize) with our voice and bodies. It’s overwhelming but it’s our job as artists to do that kind of work.”
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Ramsey is among the 16 company members contracted for 38 weeks this season, and Blunden-Diggs hopes Dayton realizes how impactful they are to the artistic and economic livelihood of the city.
“DCDC is a part of the Dayton community,” she said. “And even though are dancers come from all over the country they come here and become part of this community. They set up their home base here. They buy homes or rent condos here, buy cars here, and become a part of churches and organizations here. And it’s important to the economic balance of this community.”
In her new role as chief executive and artistic director, she would particularly like to shift the narrative when it comes to fundraising.
“Some say it would be easier to raise money if it were bricks and mortar, building a building,” Blunden-Diggs explained. “But the bricks and mortar are the artists and the works of art. Our dancers are not only incredible athletic artists but incredible humans. And you see their humanity on stage.”
‘A showpiece for the company’
Ward’s piece, “Sets and Chasers,” salutes Duke Ellington’s groundbreaking radio broadcasts of the 1940s and was conceived as a centennial celebration of the legendary jazz musician’s birth.
“It’s a very complex and complicated piece with a lot of moving parts,” Ward said. “There have been different casts who have performed this work and each have added their own spin because there is room for personalization.”
The music used in the piece was recorded by Ellington’s orchestra in Fargo, ND complete with an announcer. Ellington is also heard on the recording.
“Some of Ellington’s top musicians are on these recordings,” Ward said. “It’s so danceable and a lot of Ellington’s music is danceable, which is what the appeal is. It’s big band music but it’s challenging big band music due to different harmonies and phrasing, which makes it an exciting experience.”
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Credit: BEN JACKSON
Blunden-Diggs echoed Ward’s sentiment about the work.
“It takes the audience back to a time of simplicity, juke joints and Ellington music,” she said. “It’s quite a showpiece for the company. It was a showpiece when Kevin created it and it still is with a whole new generation of dancers.”
Having been extremely pleased with DCDC’s Oct. 1-6 engagement at New York’s Joyce Theater (“they were beyond brilliant”), she’s confident audiences will be eager to see the company shine at home.
“It’s a really eclectic program but it’s also a program you can come to enjoy for pure entertainment purposes,” Blunden-Diggs said. “Art is healing, and if only for the hour and a half that you’re sitting in the theater, we all have a commonality. We can forget about race, religion and politics and have the same experience, which is so beautiful and meaningful.”
HOW TO GO
What: DCDC presents “Remember the Time”
When: Oct. 26-27; 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton
Cost: $8-$75
More info: daytonlive.org
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