Location
Age
Area of FocusAbout Jeraldyne's Work
Jeraldyne Blunden was a choreographer, a dance instructor, and an artistic director.
In 1968, Blunden established the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), which developed from a small, regional African-American dance company to a nationally recognized one. In order to preserve a historic record of dance, she created, within the DCDC, a dance archive that includes a repertory of the masterworks of African-American choreographers. A choreographer herself, she regularly held workshops for young choreographers, giving them the rare opportunity to work with professional dancers.
Biography
Blunden was the artistic director of DCDC since 1968, and taught at Ohio State University, Wright State University, the University of Toledo, Wilberforce University, and the Miami University of Ohio. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship in 1980, and in 1977 was honored as one of the Top Ten Women of Dayton and the first female recipient of the Kuzaliwa Award for contributions to the black community.
Blunden attended the Connecticut College for Women (1959), Central Connecticut State University (1960), the Clark Center for the Performing Arts (1968-74), and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (1971-75). She first studied ballet and modern dance with Josephine and Hermene Schwarz and later trained with Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and James Truitte.
Last updated January 1, 2005
Published on July 1, 1994
