Jeraldyne Blunden
Man has created boundaries for race, religion, and culture. If we can get past that, we can realize that there is much more in life which connects us.
—Jeraldyne Blunden
In the 1940s, Jeraldyne (Kilborn) Blunden was just 8 years old when her mother joined other African-American women in their segregated neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, seeking ballet lessons from the Dayton School of Ballet for their daughters. As a result of this unusual endeavor, doors opened for the exceptionally talented Blunden to study with legends such as Martha Graham, Jose Limon, George Balanchine and James Truitte and to discover the world outside Dayton. The dreams born early in her life led to being founder and director of her own Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, which now is one of the premiere independent black dance companies in America.
The company's dance style is … based on "an eclectic mix of everything my mother learned. Our dancers train in ballet, modern and jazz, and our choreography finds itself in the mix. (Debbie Blunden-Diggs)
—Tucson Weekly
Praised by the New York Times for their "virtuoso dancing ... (and) a signature style rooted not so much in power as in speed, suppleness and intricacy," Blunden’s Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has gained international acclaim. It also was invited to participate in the Black Tradition in American Modern Dance project to reconstruct classic African-American works in danger of being lost. DCDC now holds the largest collection in the world of classic works by African American choreographers.
Jeraldyne Blunden played an integral role in the dance field, contributing to the development and performance of contemporary dance on a regional, national and international scale. Her artistic vision and knowledge of dance served the dance world primarily through the mission and achievements of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.
—Wright State University Libraries website
Blunden’s contribution to her art has been so profound she won the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award and the Dance Magazine Award for lifetime service to the field of dance. Her wide-ranging abilities and no-nonsense approach resulted in her company being so well established it has survived her unexpected death. Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Jeraldyne’s daughter, and Kevin Ward, her longtime Artistic Director, now share leadership of DCDC. Ward observes, “Jeraldyne was … concerned with timelessness. She didn't lean toward the trendy. The `flavor of the month' wasn't for her. She wanted works that would last.” As a result of her talent and vision, Blunden’s company not only flourished under her leadership but also is flourishing under the leadership of those she prepared to carry on after her.
That no-nonsense approach to life was mixed with steely determination, a great personal warmth and humor and an unsentimental humanity that made her (Jeraldyne Blunden) a much-loved figure on the national dance scene.
–-The New York Times