This weekend, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will perform Power & Presence, a program that features two world premieres by African American female choreographers and a revival piece accompanied live by local jazz musicians.
DCDC’s Chief Executive & Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said they’ll also have a special guest on hand.
This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Debbie Blunden-Diggs: I think it is incredibly special, particularly at this time of our country's history. It falls right in the wedge between African American History Month and Women's History Month, which is, you know, a salute to our founder, who was both a woman and an African American.
I have chosen to create new work, so there will be two new world premiere pieces. One from our Associate Artistic Director, Qarrianne Blayr. And that work is entitled Call(ing). And then we have another work from the Associate Artistic Director of one of our sister companies, the Cleo Parker-Robinson Dance Theater out of Denver, Colorado. And her name is Winifred Harris. And her piece is entitled Shadows From Before. And so not only are we lifting up great art, we're lifting up the choreographic voices of female choreographers, which is really special and important because still in the field we are slightly under-represented, still.
Having DCDC commission these works, these two brand new works by women is part of my passion and lays really close to my heart.
We also have a guest company coming in from Chicago and their Director, Miss Kiya Smith, is an alumna of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company's 2nd Company. So it kind of gives a nod to the seeds that we have planted, not only here in Dayton but throughout the nation, and so her company will be our guest performers, and then we will be reviving a piece of beautiful, beautiful work entitled Human Nature that was choreographed by our very own Countess Winfrey.
"But it's also about a bigger connotation of 'calling.' What is your calling? What is your spiritual calling? How are you connected? What happens when you're not centered? How do you bring yourself back to the center?"
The piece is really special because her brother, who is a musician, we commissioned him to write the score. So this piece will be performed live this weekend. We will have 12 very talented musicians in our pit that will be giving us the sound feature of this piece. So all exciting. A mouthful I know, but all very, very exciting as we celebrate who we are. I mean, I'm very proud of that too, you know, celebrating the date and contemporary dance company in the way that lifts us up.
Jerry Kenney: Can we briefly, in our short time together, talk about the two premiere pieces, creating the movement and the story?
Blunden-Diggs: The piece that was created by Qarrianne Blayr, which is calling talks about the connections that we have with people. And so when you see the title of the piece written (CALL)ING. Qarrianne is not from here. She's from North Carolina, and she has been here since she graduated from college. Her connection with her family is very strong and the center of the support to who she has grown to become as a young woman. And so in this piece, you will hear snippets of messages that have been left for her on her phone, from her mother, from her sister and from her grandmother that sort of frames the piece.
But it's also about a bigger connotation of 'calling.' What is your calling? What is your spiritual calling? How are you connected? What happens when you're not centered? How do you bring yourself back to the center?
The piece is danced by five women in the company. I think it is an incredibly personal piece for the choreographer that allows us into a very, very sacred part of herself about how she keeps herself centered and moving forward.
Kenney: We've been speaking with Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company's chief executive and artistic director. Their performance of Power & Presence runs this weekend, March 1 and 2 at the Victoria Theater. Debbie, thank you so much for your time today and good luck with the weekend performances.
Blunden-Diggs: Thank you so much.
