Dayton Dance Initiative is comprised of choreographers and dancers of Dayton Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Mutual Dance Theatre, and Wright State University. The troupe primarily allows dancers more creative opportunities, especially in terms of choreographing, while also providing employment during their “off” season and valuable time to connect and grow as colleagues.
“The heart of our mission and watching the dancers collaborate and build friendships is the greatest reward for all of the work,” said Artistic Director Jennifer Sydor. “This year we have a lovely balance between DCDC dancers, Dayton Ballet dancers and freelance dancers, and we have more experienced choreographers as well as brand-new choreographers.”
This year’s roster features Harry Broadbent, Thaliyah Cools-Lartigue, Nicolay Dorsett, Alexandria Flewellen, Jasmine Getz, Aaron Frisby, Stevie Lamblin, Patrick Lennon, Fara Ling, Claire Mitchell, Natalie Nagy, Elizabeth Ramsey, Francisco Rivera, Belle Urben, Jalen Williams and Countess V. Winfrey.
“Each choreographer is really rooted in their concept,” Sydor said. “They are fully committed with what they are trying to communicate and it’s totally different from each other, which is very exciting.”
Lennon, entering his second season with Dayton Dance Initiative and third season with Dayton Ballet, is choreographing a balletic duet titled “You Could Be” featuring the music of rock band Muse.
“This work talks about the optimism and the hesitancy of entering a new relationship,” Lennon said. “I’ve also incorporated elements of ballroom dancing. It’s a very romantic piece.”
Credit: PAULIO SOVARI
Credit: PAULIO SOVARI
The Grand Rapids, Mich. native also enjoys the freedom of creativity fueling the artists within Dayton Dance Initiative.
“We are left to our creative devices,” he said. “It’s also been great to see how other people work and see their nuances. As a dancer, it’s been nice as well to do more contemporary movement because we don’t get a lot of that necessarily with Dayton Ballet. We also take inspiration from the DCDC dancers whose quality of movement is incredible.”
Dorsett, a Sunset, Fla. native and a member of DCDC since 2021, is also entering her second season with Dayton Dance Initiative. She is preparing a video game-themed work titled “Journey of the Six” that is among the most unique pieces to be presented by the company.
“The rehearsal process began with playing the game Ninja,” Dorsett said. “And then I had the idea of meeting different characters and (seeing) how they all come together. This work is different from what is usually seen at DDI, and I wanted it to be a different experience for the dancers and audience.”
She also values the collaborative essence of the company.
“DDI initially caught my interest because of their collaborations with Dayton Ballet and other professionals in the area,” Dorsett said. “I knew I wanted to be a part of DDI because it was outside of what I usually do at DCDC and I’m still trying to network with people around Dayton as well.”
Sydor hopes audiences are eager to embrace the fundamentals of Dayton Dance Initiative which encourages community, innovation and experimentation.
“We are uniting all the dancers in our community despite their differences in background or technique,” she said. “We also hope to ignite our city in a good way. I feel like the dancers and artists in the Dayton community light up our city in the best way. They’re young, vibrant and hard workers. We also hope to light a fire underneath our region to create and be more experimental to offer works you’d see in coastal cities or even in Europe.”
Credit: PAULIO SOVARI
Credit: PAULIO SOVARI
HOW TO GO
What: Dayton Dance Initiative presents “Unite and Ignite”
When: June 28-29; 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: PNC Arts Annex, 46 W. Second St,, Dayton
Tickets: $28.50-$33.50
More info: 937-228-3630 or visit daytonlive.org/events/unite-ignite/
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