Dayton Dance Initiative is an independent collective of professional dancers from the Dayton area. We strive to create a platform for artists to explore their choreographic voices, collaborate across diverse backgrounds, and bring our community together through immersive dance experiences.
MISSION
Our mission is to provide professional dancers a platform to collaborate and create with artists outside their own company or genre while deepening the Dayton community’s interaction with the art of dance.
BACKGROUND
DDI was founded by former Dayton Ballet dancer Jocelyn Watson, who had a vision of collaboration with the other talented dancers in Dayton, namely the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Since its formation, DDI has expanded to connect dancers across organizations such as Mutual Dance Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, Wright State University, freelance artists, and Arthur Murray Dance Center: Dayton, whose partnership has provided further opportunities for our dancers to expand their repertoire, experience, and love of dance.
VISION
Dayton Dance Initiative is committed to supporting artists through competitive compensation, curating encouraging, intentional, and creative spaces for artists to thrive, and filling the otherwise seasonal gap in dance employment in the Dayton area. Additionally, DDI strives to facilitate a meaningful and personal audience to artist connection where we work together to grow opportunities for everyone in Dayton to experience the power of dance.
“As a former dancer and Dayton native, it’s inspiring to see our region’s incredible dancers come together through so many diverse styles of dance. DDI is a true reflection of Dayton’s spirit of innovation and community!”
How we’re moving
DDI launched our inaugural performance in May 2019 - Making Moves - at Dayton Live’s PNC Arts Annex.
We provided choreographic and collaborative opportunity to 19 dancers from the Dayton area.
DDI began the Moving Strong 2020 season with 21 dancers and choreographers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we stretched and improvised, providing Virtual Master Classes free of charge to our community.
We took on the challenges of the time and went virtual with our 2020 production - Moving Strong - with 1.5K views on YouTube!
DDI continued to expand our mission and adapt to the new virtual world - with our Fall/Winter Mini Series, providing further opportunity for dancers facing unemployment due to Covid-19.
In 2023 DDI celebrated 5 years with Making Moves: The CoLAB in which choreographers were paired with outside artists to produce a multi-disciplinary show featuring painting, live music, set designs, spoken word and more!
Under new artistic leadership in 2024, DDI reexamined its place in the Dayton community with our sixth season performance, Unite & Ignite.
2024 brought new community partnerships with Wright State Dance and Dayton Live’s Creative Academy that expanded our reach to collegiate level artists and Dayton area students.
Taking inspiration from our fifth season, we revamped our seventh season with a new take on our multidisciplinary collaborative performance with COLAB II in 2025. DDI hosted 7 artistic collaborators from the Dayton community.
DDI continues to prioritize our community through sponsored performances for youth organizations and individuals who may otherwise be unable to experience live performances.