Blayr was raised by a circle of loving women in Fayetteville, North Carolina, among them her mother, sister and aunts. Growing up, her family was “1000%” encouraging of her interest in dance. Her mother and aunt had also taken classes at her childhood dance studio.
“They supported me from the beginning. That’s not a lot of people’s story. I was thankful.”
Blayr grew up taking ballet, and was in her high school marching band.
“If you know anything about Southern marching bands, it was a big deal. When I got to college, I did ballet and American Modern dance, jazz and tap, but (at Howard) our strong focus was Traditional West African dance. That really rounded out my artistic experience.”
She visited Dayton before graduating college to partake in a DCDC summer intensive.
“When I graduated, my advisor — my ‘dance mother’, Dr. Johnson — told me I needed to go back to DCDC.”
Dance mothers continued to be on Blayr’s side. Starting out in the unpaid second company, Blayr suggested to Debbie Blunden-Diggs (current chief executive and artistic director of DCDC) and the Executive Director at the time, Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders, that she take on administrative work in tandem with the dance program. They agreed, and she flourished.
“I was a Dance major and a Theatre Admin minor. It’s always gone together for me. In my time at DCDC, I have always been artistic and administrative. I feel like understanding both sides makes me better. I like to exercise both sides of my brain.”
Blayr, 38, is always dancing as she gesticulates with her hands and arms while speaking. She lives near the Dayton Art Institute with her partner, Kémosiri A’akhutera, an entrepreneur specializing in programs aimed at reducing poverty.
SLOW DOWN
“I open my eyes and say my prayers at 7:30. I’ve had to cultivate that because I noticed I would just wake up and start rushing and looking at my phone. There was a period of my life where everything was rushing. I was like, girl, what are you rushing for? Fatigue and noticing it in my body told me to exhale and put my shoulders down.
“Then I do one of a few things. I either do a light stretch yoga-type practice that I follow on YouTube, or I go swimming at the Northwest Recreation Center. I love swimming.”
TECHNIQUE CLASS
“I head to rehearsal. We have our technique class in the morning. It usually is a warm-up of some sort and then an across-the-floor progression. Then an ending combination routine. That’s an hour and a half.”
Blayr said she goes over combinations in her head all the time throughout the day.
BREAKFAST & REHEARSAL
“After class we have a little break and I’ll have some breakfast — oatmeal or a rice cake and banana. I just celebrated my 7-year anniversary of being vegan. I’m from the South, so we put meat in everything. I remember even in middle school not craving meat. I ate it because it’s what my mother was cooking.
“Part of my duty as Associate Director is to lay out what the rehearsal day looks like. I am tasked with setting the morning rehearsal block until our lunchtime. Deeper in that, we’ll rehearse this section of this piece, the men will go into Studio B and rehearse this section, then we’ll come back together. Making it make sense for what’s coming up as well as where we are.
“If the company feels really tired — if we’ve just come off a tour or had a guest choreographer in for two weeks — then maybe we won’t start with the most taxing section of the piece. Maybe we’ll start with the opening. If it’s something that we’re re-staging — meaning that we’ve done this piece before — maybe we’ll start with looking at the video of the piece together.
“When you overdo it, that’s when injuries happen, that’s when attitudes and egos come out. I mean, we’re artists,” she said.
POWER AND PRESENCE
“We go into our first rehearsal block. The rehearsal block is from 11:45-1:30. Our rehearsal is the over and over and over of what we’re preparing. Now we’re preparing for our March 1 and 2 show. It’s called ‘Power and Presence’."
The production will celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month by featuring Black female choreographers.
“We’re a repertory company, which means (either) Debbie will choose pieces out of our huge collection or we have choreographers come in and set a piece on us. This time we have three works on the program and then we’re hosting a guest company as well. They’re the South Chicago Dance Theatre. We’re trying to introduce our audience to more dance and also cultivate relationships with other companies in the field.
BALANCING ACT
Lunch is 1:30-2:30, and then the dancers return for the second rehearsal block, 2:30-5:15.
“Sometimes the rehearsal day is a research or music appreciation day, where we’re just listening and marking. You have to feel it — sometimes we’re in the middle of the run of a piece, and Debbie will stop it and say, ‘No, this is fake. It’s not real.’”
Taking in a dancer’s emotional expression can be as absorbing as appreciating their grace and athleticism. Some of us may wonder if this part is intuitive, or taught.
“You have to practice. That’s the duty of the rehearsal director, the associate and artistic directors, to guide you to being comfortable with that expression. We talk about what the choreographer was intending, and what it means for you. Until I find an analogy that fits for me, it’s going to be fake. The audience can feel that reality.
“We’re not just working physically close together, but emotionally. Some of our topics and themes that we’re dealing with bring up things in people. We have to be able to hold space for what that emotion brings up and we still have to get the work done. It’s a moving, balancing, harmony act that we have to feel our way through.
EXHALE
“That’s the end of our DCDC day. Some dancers then go on to teach at other studios, which could last until 9.
“After we close up I just need to exhale for the day. I usually take a little stretching cool down for myself for about ten minutes. Then I go into the office and do whatever I need to do. Sometimes there are emails that I need to send. If we’re writing grants there are things I need to think about to form and shape to send to our grants writer.
“I usually lay out the plan for the week, but depending on what we got done that day I might need to adjust the schedule. I try to set my timer and say, let me do an hour and whatever get’s done, get’s done. Or else I’ll spend my whole night at DCDC.
REGULATE
“I pack up and go wherever I need to go - Kroger, Walmart, the gas station. I call my sister, Skyler, on the way. I get home, immediately wash the day off and then cook, eat, watch a little Youtube. I talk to my mom if I haven’t already.
“I do some breathing exercises before I go to sleep. I’m calming myself down, trying to regulate my nervous system. I remind myself that it’s ok to relax — you’re at home now. You’ve done the work for today. I try not to let my mind trick me into thinking I can do more tasks. Maybe you can write a note for your morning self, but no more tonight.
“I spend time with my partner. The final thing I’ll do is a little journaling. I try not to judge it. I kind of evaluate everything in my life and career.
EPHEMERAL BEAUTY
How does it feel to be part of a company that’s been around for 55 years?
“Oh, it feels great. It feels like stability and longevity and at the same time, sometimes it feels like a start-up. Artistically, there are shifts that happen. We get a company of dancers that start to gel and to really understand how we move together. Then maybe the next season three of those people leave, and we get three new people and we’re starting to figure each other out again to create that magic. That’s just part of it.
“I think art is so important, especially dancing, because it’s something that you cannot touch, but you can feel. When you are performing, that performance happens, and then it’s done. Once it’s done, it’s gone. It’s not like a song that you can re-play and feel again, or when you’re painting, the art is there. With the act of dancing, there’s no separation from the art and your body.”
MORE DETAILS
WHAT: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company performs ‘Power and Presence’ at the Victoria Theatre
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. March. 1 and 4 p.m. March 2
MORE INFO: Purchase tickets at daytonlive.org
Credit: Geek With A Lens Photography
Credit: Geek With A Lens Photography
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
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