Motown salute celebrates Black History Month
Get ready to move and groove as Dayton Contemporary Dance Company continues to celebrate Black History Month with a concert saluting Motown on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Arbogast Performing Arts Center in Troy.
The program will pay homage to Motown’s distinctly iconic blend of R&B, soul, jazz and funk. DCDC Music Director Deron Bell and his band will play hits from such legends as The Supremes, The Temptations and The Jackson 5 among many others.
“We’re collaborating with our favorite musicians, Deron Bell and his band, and we’re going to present a memorable night of music and dance,” said DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs, daughter of DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden. “Motown (conjures) a lot of nostalgia, and we have crafted and curated a program that will take audiences on a journey with the beautiful sounds of Motown and the wonderful dancers of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.”
Bell has been a force on the Dayton music scene for decades, performing on stage locally with countless musicians over the years from longtime funk icons like James Brown, Bootsy Collins and Shirley Murdock to R&B greats like The Floaters and The Manhattans.
He has also been the local pre-show entertainment for several touring Broadway productions such as “The Lion King,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Wicked,” and “Jersey Boys,” and he has collaborated with local musicians on numerous projects, including a celebration of funk music in 2021 with the Dayton Funk All-Stars, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of Dayton’s Funk Symposium.
Bell and his band will perform a full lineup of Motown classics including hits like “Mr. Postman,” “My Guy,” “I’m Coming Out,” “Heatwave,” “Dancing in the Streets,” and many more guaranteed to have the audience dancing in the aisles.
DCDC was founded in 1968 to create performance opportunities for dancers of color. Now celebrating its 55th anniversary, the 10th largest modern contemporary dance company in the nation remains rooted in the African-American experience and committed to the development of diverse movement artists on the global stage. The organization notably delivered an outstanding presentation of “In Modern Moves” Feb. 17-18 at the Victoria Theatre featuring their phenomenal company premiere of Paul Taylor’s legendary, gorgeous and athletic 1975 masterwork “Esplanade.”
Saturday’s concert marks the first for DCDC at the Arbogast. Organizers view the concert as another example of community-building and productive inclusivity.
“We try to take every opportunity that we can in different places and different spaces,” Blunden-Diggs said. “DCDC is being exposed to people who don’t necessarily come to Dayton to see us at the Victoria Theatre. Perhaps they are more comfortable being in theaters within their own communities. But we will take DCDC anywhere. It is what we’re meant to do. The arts are meant to be shared and dance is meant to be inclusive. DCDC wants to be in front of as many people as possible.”