Daughter of company founder Jeraldyne Blunden, at age five Debbie Blunden-Diggs began training at the Schwarz School of the Dance. She joined Dayton Contemporary Dance Company at twelve and won national recognition for her choreography by seventeen. The Young Choreographers Showcase selected her first piece Variations in Blue for inclusion in the National Choreographic Plan, which made the dance available to companies across the country.
During her 40 plus years with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Blunden-Diggs appeared in most of the company’s repertoire, including principal roles like the Mother in Eleo Pomare’s Las Desenamoradas and the Madame in Donald McKayle’s District Storyville. Blunden-Digg’s choreography for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has spanned two decades. Her notable works include No Room, No Place, No Where for which she received a Monticello Award in 1982, Variations in Blue, Night Phases, Silent Echos, Configurations, Kaliedascope, Fragments, In My Father’s House, and Traffic.
Blunden-Diggs is the executive director of Jeraldyne’s School of the Dance, the cornerstone of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. She also works closely with the pre-professional company DCDC2. In 1990, Blunden-Diggs was appointed associate artistic director, and in 2003 she became deputy director for arts and operations. In 2007, Blunden-Diggs became the company’s artistic director.Â
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