Artistic Directress & Dancer Artist

Fayetteville, NC

Qarrianne joined DCDC’s first company in 2012 after having performed for two seasons in DCDC2, the company’s pre-professional ensemble. She earned her BFA degree at Howard University, studying under Sherrill Berryman-Johnson, Pat Thomas, Sandra Fortune-Green, Katherine Smith, Akua Kouyate, and Assane Konte. She also studied traditional Jamaican dance at University of West Indies at Mona.

In 2004, Ms. Blayr founded the performing arts group Arts International.

Of the choreographers she has worked with, Sherrill Berryman-Johnson has been the most influential in helping her become a “moving/thinking vessel.”

Her favorite DCDC repertory piece to perform is The Amen Corner of the dance concert BodyTalk.

Associate Artistic Director & Dancer Artist

Countess V. Winfrey is Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s (DCDC) Associate Artistic Director, as well as a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist — and previously served as rehearsal director. She began her journey with DCDC2, the company’s second company, in 2012 before advancing into the professional company, where she has spent 13 seasons building a career as performer, creator, and mentor, dancing works by world-renowned choreographers including Ulysses Dove, Talley Beatty, Rennie Harris, Paul Taylor, Dwight Rhoden, Ron K. Brown, Donald McKayle, Ray Mercer, and Abby Zbikowski across stages in Bermuda, China, Kazakhstan, and Russia — including Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater (2018), Lincoln Center (2019), The Joyce Theater (2020, 2024), and the American Dance Festival (2018, 2025). Since 2016, she has also embodied the lead role in DCDC’s holiday classic The Littlest Angel.

As a choreographer, Winfrey has created works for DCDC including Stepping into Season (with Qarrianne Blayr), Nourishing Routes, huMAN/NAture, and the upcoming Promised Land, along with commissions for Oyo Dance Company, Mutual Dance Theater, and a site-specific piece for the Cincinnati Art Museum. She has also taught at the University of Memphis, The Ohio State University, Miami University, Ohio University, and Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts.