Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, currently planning its 58th season of works rooted in the African-American experience, is stepping into a new era of artistic leadership.
After 18 years as artistic director and two years in dual roles as chief executive and artistic director, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, daughter of DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden, has passed the artistic director baton to Qarrianne Blayr.
Blayr, who joined DCDC’s first company in 2012 after having performed for two seasons in DCDC2, has served as associate artistic director for five years.
“I’ve been thinking about how to move this company forward and Qarrianne and I have been in conversations about this shift for the last several years,” Blunden-Diggs said. “I think I’ve done most of the artistic things that I want to do with the company and I would like to focus on stabilizing us financially and moving us to a space of sustainability.”
Debbie Blunden-Diggs is recognized as one of the 2026 YWCA Dayton Women of Influence honorees March 12 at the Dayton Convention Center. Blunden-Diggs has named her replacement for the role of artistic director of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Nick Graham / staff
Respecting legacy has always been a pivotal component of DCDC, particularly for Blunden-Diggs who began her DCDC path at 12 years old. Only Blunden, Blunden-Diggs and Kevin Ward, current DCDC touring director and senior artistic advisor, have served as artistic director in the company’s nearly 60-year history.
As she transitions into another senior administrative role within the company, Blunden-Diggs, 65, recognizes the need for change at this moment for the greater good of the organization.
“What really makes us unique is that we’ve been able to continue this legacy line internally,” she said. “When Jeraldyne transitioned, Kevin Ward stepped into the role. And when Kevin left, I stepped into the role. And now it’s time to pass the baton. Qarrianne has been doing the studio/artistic part of the job for a while. And you only know what you know when you enter any position. She will not come into this position knowing everything she needs to know about being an artistic director. I (still) don’t know everything there is to know about being an artistic director. But I do know what is good and best for this company — and it’s her.”
Blayr, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., is grateful for the opportunity to further flourish in artistic leadership.
“It’s exciting, scary, great and all the things that transition is,” said Blayr, 39. “When you’re fortunate enough to plan a transition and fortunate enough to make strategic (decisions) you don’t have to feel thrust into it. We took time to plan, which is something DCDC is doing and will continue to do. We don’t want to do things haphazardly. And I feel like I’m at home. My career has largely been built here.”
Qarrianne Blayr. Briana Snyder, Knack Video + Photo / Contributed
Qarrianne Blayr
Blayr earned her BFA degree at Howard University, notably studying under Sherrill Berryman-Johnson. She studied traditional and social Jamaican dance at University of West Indies at Mona, and also trained and performed with The National Theater of Ghana’s National Dance Ensemble in Accra, Ghana.
Her original choreography includes “Call(ing),” which DCDC premiered in 2025 and re-staged in 2026. The beautiful work features five women navigating life’s journey guided by recorded voicemails from Blayr’s family.
“The work we do is impactful and challenging for the artists and is also impactful and sometimes challenging for our audience, and what we do is not production at any cost,” Blayr said. “We’re not production at the cost of physical or mental health or safety. We’re not production at the cost of integrity. We are humans and we try to honor that humanity at every angle of the organization artistically and administratively. And I’m still interested in how we can continue to bring humanity (forward), push the envelope and be brave and courageous.”
As ideas center on programming Season 58, which will be announced July 15 with the theme “Continuum…. The Legacy Continues,” Blayr anticipates overseeing a lineup that upholds DCDC’s identity, mission and relevance.
“I honor the work that has been done before and I appreciate and recognize the work the dancers do to put their bodies and spirit through this,” she said. “We’ll have our mainstage performances at the Victoria Theatre as well as our holiday and community offerings and we will still tour. We want to continue and I’m asking the community to come with us as we move forward.”
Russell Florence Jr.
