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Dayton Contemporary Dance Company soar for the power of flight
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On the Wings of Angels honors World War II's
Tuskegee airmen.
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If you want to see some great dancing, it's time to get your ticket to DCDC. In case you don't know, that's DAYTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY, based just a short hop away from Cincinnati. In 1968 visionary Jeraldyne Blunden founded DCDC. She died in 1999, and now DCDC is headed by Kevin Ward, artistic director and resident choreographer, and Blunden's daughter Debbie Blunden-Diggs, DCDC's associate artistic director. The company's repertoire includes works by noted choreographers -- Ulysses Dove, Eleo Pomare, Merce Cunningham, Talley Beatty, James Truitte, Donald McKayle, Doug Varone, Donald Byrd, Bebe Miller and Dwight Rhoden. In Cincinnati this weekend, at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater, you can see great dancers, close up. If that's not enough, consider the choreographers the company has recently commissioned: Bill T. Jones, Varone, Garth Fagan (who choreographed The Lion King onstage next door at the Aronoff's big theater), Rhoden and Bebe Miller. All created dances for the company honoring the 100th anniversary of powered flight, celebrated in Dayton this year. A selection from these will be performed. Also on the program is Warren Spears' On the Wings of Angels, honoring the Tuskegee airmen, African-American fighter pilots from World War II. They overcame prejudice to become of the most highly respected units in the war. Their service led the way to eventual integration of the U.S. military. The 30-minute piece for six men follows them from their early training to the time they became airborne. It's more impressionistic than literal, using gestures of saluting, pointing to the skies and pledging their hearts. The men united in an intense camaraderie as they faced enemies at home and overseas. DCDC last appeared in Cincinnati in 2000. Many will remember the poignant Children of the Passage, from Donald McKayle and Ronald K. Brown. Also notable was Sheri "Sparkle" Williams' appearance in Dwight Rhoden's solo, "Growth." The work demanded incredible focus and control. This time around, the evening will be driven by a celebration of the dream of flight -- whether powered by machine, by muscle or by imagination.
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Previously in Shake It
Shake It: Basically Dance Ririe-Woodbury uncover a beautiful collage of different images
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(February 26, 2003)
Shake It Dance steps to a new level in 2002
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Other articles by Kathy Valin
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Traditional, New, Alive Cincinnati Ballet has a strategy for growth (February 12, 2003)
Sense of Invention CDT presents a familiar choreographer whose work simmers with musicality (January 29, 2003)
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