Welcome

On behalf of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, welcome to When the Spirit Moves. This performance carries us back to the gospel roots and community that first raised this company, and that spirit still moves through every step you’ll see tonight.

DCDC was founded in 1968 to create space for dancers of color, and that mission runs through everything we do. As we open Season 58, Continuum… Legacy in Motion, we’re honored to carry that legacy forward while building what comes next.

Thank you for being here and for supporting the artists and the community.

Company Leadership

Jeraldyne Blunden | Founding Artistic Director
Debbie Blunden-Diggs | President and CEO
Qarrianne Blayr | Artistic Directress & Dancer Artist
Countess V. Winfrey | Associate Artistic Director & Dancer Artist

About Our Artistic Directress
Qarrianne Blayr is from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She earned her BFA at Howard University and studied traditional Jamaican dance at the University of the West Indies, Mona and the University of Ghana in Accra. Ms. Blayr joined the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s professional group in 2012 after having performed for two seasons in DCDC2, the company’s pre-professional ensemble.

She is most inspired by the study of spirituality, human nature and the traditional and social dances of people of African lineage, and uses these ideas to guide her creative process and leadership values. Ms. Blayr has choreographed works for DCDC, DCDC2, musical productions at the University of Dayton and Central State University and the traditional Kazakh dance ensemble Kazyna Dance Company. She has performed around the world, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Bermuda, Grenada, China and Ghana, as well as across the US.

Ms. Blayr was named Artistic Directress in 2026.

About DCDC
Founded in 1968 by MacArthur Fellow Jeraldyne Blunden to create performance opportunities for dancers of color, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company is rooted in the African American experience and committed to reaching the broadest audience through exceptional performance and arts-integrated education. DCDC has danced for packed houses across the United States and in Bermuda, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia and South Korea, and has been presented by the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Kennedy Center, New York’s Lincoln Center and City Center Fall for Dance.

DCDC Season 58: Continuum
Fifty-eight seasons in, DCDC is still doing what it was built to do: giving dancers of color a stage to be great and giving Dayton a reason to fill the seats. This season travels from the gospel roots of When the Spirit Moves… to the holiday warmth of The Littlest Angel and on to the riveting energy of (Re)Singing From The Underspace and Ever Forward, each one carrying the legacy forward in its own way.

During the performance:

Please silence all phones and devices. Photography and video recording are not permitted during the performance.

Show Order

SPECTRA: Part One
Beyond A Cliff (Premiere 1991)

Dedicated to Jeraldyne Blunden
with Thanks and Love
“And feels strong just like the wind
That may blow him off the cliff
But falling flat or rolling down
Can be the factor if…”

-Dwight Rhoden

Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Restaged by: Sheri “Sparkle” Williams
Music: Michael Shrieve, Ofra Haza
Original Lighting Design: John Rensel
Original Costume Design: L’Amour Ameer
Dancer Artists:
Emily Bryan, Alexandria Flewellen, Niarra Gooden-Clarke, Donovan McFadden, Will Meadows,
Fabio Tello Muñoz, Allyia Nelloms, Sadale Warner
Soloist: Aaron J. Frisby

About the choreographer:
Dayton native Dwight Rhoden began his formal dance training at 18 at DCDC. He went on to dance with Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and as a principal with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and in 1994 co-founded Complexions Contemporary Ballet with Desmond Richardson. He has created work for Ailey, San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Cirque du Soleil and television.

Heaven’s Earth (Premiere 2026)
Choreography: Qarrianne Blayr
Music: Michael Wall
Lighting Design: Matthew J. Evans
Costume Design: Qarrianne Blayr and Ayn Swann
Costume Build: Ayn Swann
Saturday, October 31: Emily Bryan and Jalen Williams
Sunday, November 1: Countess V. Winfrey and Fabio Tello Muñoz
About the choreographer: See page 3
She’s not ready to travel to Heaven, he knows the time has come… He guides her on the journey.

15 Minute Intermission

SPECTRA: Part Two
Urban Milonga (Premiere 2013)

Choreography: Alvin Rangel
Restaged by: Sheri “Sparkle” Williams
Music: Astor Piazzolla
Original Lighting Design: John Rensel
Original Costume Design: L’Amour Ameer
Dancer Artists:
Emily Bryan, Aaron J. Frisby, Niarra Gooden-Clarke, Donovan McFadden, Fabio Tello Muñoz, Countess V. Winfrey

Urban Milonga becomes the embodiment of sensual bonding between people through tango aesthetics and music, and expands beyond the traditional pairing of opposite-sex partners.

About the choreographer:
Alvin Rangel began his career in his native Puerto Rico and toured internationally with DCDC for nearly a decade, earning a Josie Award for Best Male Concert Dancer. He danced in DCDC’s revival of Donald McKayle’s Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder, winner of the 2016 Bessie Award for Outstanding Revival. He is a Professor of Dance at California State University, Fullerton, and has taught master classes on five continents.

For the Sake of It (Premiere 2013)

Choreography: William B. McClellan, Jr.
Music: Steve Reich and Basement Jaxx
Original Lighting Design: John Rensel
Original Costume Design: L’Amour Ameer
Section I: Driven
Section II: Saturation
Section III: RAW!!
Dancer Artists:
Emily Bryan, Nicolay Dorsett, Alexandria Flewellen, Aaron J. Frisby, Niarra Gooden-Clarke, Donovan McFadden, Will Meadows, Fabio Tello Muñoz, Allyia Nelloms, Sadale Warner, Jalen Williams, Countess V. Winfrey

About the choreographer:
We celebrate the life and legacy of William B. McClellan, Jr., longtime DCDC artist and all-around special human. Mr. McClellan danced with the company for many seasons. In that time he performed, taught, created and advocated for all artists connected with the company, including dancers in DCDC2, the organization’s pre-professional performing ensemble. While pursuing an MFA from the University of Michigan, Mr. McClellan created For the Sake of It, the final work he choreographed for DCDC. We honor him and his work today.