Donald Byrd Dance Foundation - Aaron Davis Hall, City College, NYC, Feb. 1991

The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company records document the administrative, financial and performances of an important modern dance company. Researchers will note under the Financial records series, the constant struggle for funding represented in hundreds of grant applications, financial statements, and even letters to dance studio landlords. Where the collection shines is in the occasional illuminating glimpses of the dancing life represented in fragments of diaries and dancer notebooks. DCDC contractual rules with dancers have been very strict, as might be expected given the Company's very high standards, and these reveal the tough commitment needed to perform as a DCDC dancer. Highlights of the collection include correspondence with dance choreographers especially Ulysses Dove.

The records of DCDC are divided into 10 series. Series I comprises records of the DCDC Board of Trustees including minutes from 1977 on, and records of individual board committees. These records are arranged chronologically.

Series II consists of Administrative Records. The first part of the series contains basic business records including the Constitution, Articles of Incorporation, Code of Regulations, By-Laws, lease agreements, contracts with private agencies, and similar information essential to the operation of the company. The second half of the series includes general subject files arranged alphabetically. Overall, much of the information in this series is routine but the files do contain occasional records of interest to historians.

Series III consists of Personnel Records. Information of a sensitive nature (such as Social Security Numbers, etc.) have been removed from these records and returned to DCDC. However, care should still be taken in the use of this material to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of private personal information. Also included in this series are general dancer contracts, records of searches, and more useful information such as position descriptions, personnel policies, union correspondence and contracts, and the Employee Handbook. Contracts with dancers and choreographers are also included but random files may contain interesting correspondence. The series is arranged by subject and then alphabetically.

Series IV contains the Financial Records of the company. This series is divided into three subseries. The first subseries, Subseries IVA, contains audit reports, tax returns, and general tax information for DCDC from 1980 through 2000. Subseries IVB, Grants, Sponsorships, and General Fund Raising, documents the efforts of the company to obtain funding from a number of local, state, and national sources. Of particular note are the efforts to obtain funds during the severe fiscal crises the company experienced in the mid 1980's and again in the early 1990's. In both cases, special committees were formed, largely by board members to raise money to keep the company going. Also reflected in the financial records is the gradual diminishment of federal urban assistance grants for which DCDC was eligible. The last subseries, Subseries IVC, General Budget Information, contains general budget reports and similar information from 1983 through 2000.

Series V contains the performance programs of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. The programs included in this series span the period 1968 through 1998. Also included in this series are the programs on non-DCDC dance and ballet companies. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series VI contains Performance files, the largest of all the series. Spanning the period 1977 through 1998, this series documents the hundreds of performance by the company including local, national and international performances. The records include travel information for company members and often, the original contract related to a performance. DCDC performances tend to be of three types, simple "lecture-demonstrations" (mini-concerts) often presented at schools and colleges, full length concerts presented throughout the United States and overseas, and the regular season performances in Dayton. Performance files are arranged chronologically. Included in this series after the performance files is information regarding the performances of the "Muse Machine," general performance-related correspondence, general performance information, and production schedules

Series VII, Publicity, includes a chronological record of DCDC playbills and publicity materials including press releases, public service announcements, press reviews, and news and magazine articles about DCDC.

Series VIII, Photographs and Postcards, contains some very expressive photographs of the dancers in action. Many have been identified by company founder, Jeraldyne Blunden, who was working on this during the last year of her life. Photographs range in dates from the 1970's to the late 1990's. There is a good collection of still photos freezing dance moments and identified with dancer names, venues and the names of dances being performed. There are also a few postcards.

Series IX, Newsletters and Dance Magazines, contains local and national newsletters and magazines concerning dance. Many of the magazines contain articles on the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Series X, contains a variety of items including music scores and sheet music for some of the dances performed by the company. Also included are Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Dayton proclamations honoring the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Finally, for researchers interested in individual notes, the series contains notes made about dances by Kevin Ward, Melissa Swartz, and Staci Schockley.

Series XI, Audio Recordings, contains mainly reel-to-reel audio tapes of music and performances.