ODC 2016-17 Touring Brochure
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
What’s Inside<br />
Subsidy Opportunities<br />
Community Connection Ideas<br />
Current <strong>Touring</strong> Schedule<br />
Founder & Artistic Director<br />
Brenda Way<br />
Photo by Andrew Weeks of Giant
“… technically assured,<br />
emotionally inflected<br />
renderings from the<br />
entire company. ”<br />
—SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE<br />
Founder & Artistic Director<br />
Brenda Way<br />
Interim Executive Director<br />
Katherine E. Akos<br />
Co-Artistic Director<br />
KT Nelson<br />
Associate Choreographer<br />
Kimi Okada<br />
Resident Choreographer<br />
Kate Weare<br />
Company Manager<br />
Joseph Copley<br />
Booking Agent<br />
Cathy Pruzan<br />
Publicist<br />
Mona Baroudi<br />
Photo by RJ Muna of Dead Reckoning
04 <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance History<br />
06 Director Profiles<br />
08 Dancer Profiles<br />
12 Current <strong>Touring</strong> Schedule<br />
13 <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in the Press<br />
14 Subsidy Opportunities<br />
15 Access to the Artists<br />
16 Community Connection Ideas<br />
<strong>17</strong> Audience Development<br />
18 Contact Information and Staff List<br />
19 Current <strong>Touring</strong> Repertory<br />
351 Shotwell Street, San Francisco, CA 94110<br />
415/549.8518 | odc.dance/presenters<br />
odc.dance 3
odc/dance history<br />
Founded in 1971 by Artistic Director Brenda Way, who trained under the legendary<br />
George Balanchine, <strong>ODC</strong> (Oberlin Dance Collective—named after Oberlin College<br />
in Ohio where Way was on faculty) loaded up a yellow school bus and relocated to<br />
San Francisco in 1976. Her goal was to ground the company in a dynamic pluralistic<br />
urban setting. <strong>ODC</strong> was one of the first American companies to return, after a decade<br />
of pedestrian exploration, to virtuosic technique in contemporary dance and to<br />
commit major resources to interdisciplinary collaboration and musical commissions<br />
for the repertory.<br />
<strong>ODC</strong>/Dance Company's ten outstanding dancers perform its imaginative repertory<br />
for more than 50,000 people annually. In addition to two annual home seasons in<br />
San Francisco (Dance Downtown and the holiday production, The Velveteen Rabbit),<br />
past highlights include numerous appearances at the Joyce Theater in New York,<br />
sold out performances at the Kennedy Center, standing room only engagements<br />
in Europe and Russia, and two USIA tours to Asia. Way’s work was selected by<br />
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for the Inaugural Dancemotion Tour in 2010.<br />
In 45 years, <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance has performed for more than a million people in 32 states<br />
and 11 countries, with support from the NEA, the U.S. State Department, and many<br />
state and city arts agencies.<br />
The company has been widely recognized for its rigorous technique and for its<br />
numerous groundbreaking collaborations with, among others, composers Marcelo<br />
Zarvos, Bobby McFerrin, Zoë Keating, Zap Mama, Pamela Z, and Paul Dresher;<br />
writer/singer Rinde Eckert; actors Bill Irwin, Geoff Hoyle, and Robin Williams;<br />
visual artists Andy Goldsworthy, Wayne Thiebaud, Jim Campbell, and Eleanor Coppola;<br />
and welder/bike designer Max Chen.<br />
4 odc.dance
“<strong>ODC</strong> glitters... a style built<br />
on risk and nerve...”<br />
—THE NEW YORK TIMES<br />
Photo by Andrew Weeks of Giant<br />
odc.dance 5
director<br />
profiles<br />
Brenda Way<br />
BRENDA WAY (Founder & Artistic Director) received her early<br />
training at the School of American Ballet and Ballet Arts in New<br />
York City. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance<br />
and creator of the <strong>ODC</strong> Theater and <strong>ODC</strong> Dance Commons,<br />
community performance and training venues in San Francisco’s<br />
Mission District.<br />
Way launched <strong>ODC</strong> and an inter-arts department at Oberlin<br />
College and Conservatory of Music in the late 60’s before<br />
relocating to the Bay Area in 1976. She has choreographed more<br />
than 80 pieces over the last 45 years. Her commissions include<br />
Unintended Consequences: A Meditation (2008) Equal Justice<br />
Society; Life is a House (2008) San Francisco Girls Chorus; On<br />
a Train Heading South (2005) CSU Monterey Bay; Remnants of<br />
Song (2002) Stanford Lively Arts; Scissors Paper Stone (1994)<br />
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Western Women (1993) Cal<br />
Performances, Rutgers University, and Jacob’s Pillow; Ghosts of<br />
an Old Ceremony (1991) Walker Art Center and the Minnesota<br />
Orchestra; Krazy Kat (1990) San Francisco Ballet; This Point<br />
in Time (1987) Oakland Ballet; Tamina (1986) San Francisco<br />
Performances; and Invisible Cities (1985) Stanford Lively Arts<br />
and the Robotics Research Laboratory.<br />
Her work Investigating Grace was named an NEA American<br />
Masterpiece in 2011. Way’s work was selected by the Brooklyn<br />
Academy of Music in 2010 to represent the U.S. in a tour of<br />
Southeast Asia, sponsored by the State Department. She is<br />
a national spokesperson for dance, has been published widely, and<br />
has received numerous awards, including Isadora Duncan Dance<br />
Awards for both choreography and sustained achievement, and<br />
40 years of support from the National Endowment for the Arts.<br />
She is a 2000 recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim<br />
Fellowship. In 2009, she was the first choreographer to be<br />
a Resident of the Arts at the American Academy in Rome, and<br />
in 2012, she received the Helen Crocker Russell Award for<br />
Community Leadership from the SF Foundation. Way holds<br />
a Ph.D. in aesthetics and is the mother of four children.<br />
6 odc.dance
KT Nelson<br />
KT NELSON (Co-Artistic Director) joined<br />
<strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in 1976 and partners with<br />
Brenda Way in directing the <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance Company.<br />
Nelson choreographed and directed the<br />
company’s first full-length family ballet in 1986,<br />
The Velveteen Rabbit, which has since been<br />
performed annually in the Bay Area as an<br />
<strong>ODC</strong>/Dance holiday production.<br />
Nelson has been awarded the Isadora Duncan<br />
Dance Award four times: in 1987 for Outstanding<br />
Performance, in 1996 and 2012 for Outstanding<br />
Choreography, and in 2001 for Sustained<br />
Achievement. Her collaborators have included<br />
Bobby McFerrin, Geoff Hoyle, Shinichi Iova-Koga,<br />
Max Chen, Zap Mama, and Joan Jeanrenaud. In<br />
2008 her work RingRounRozi, a collaboration<br />
with French-Canadian composer Linda Bouchard,<br />
was selected to be performed at the Tanzmesse<br />
International Dance Festival. In 2009, Nelson was<br />
one of three artists selected for Austin Ballet’s New<br />
American Talent Competition. In 2012, she created<br />
new work for Western Michigan University as part<br />
of their Great Works Dance Project.<br />
In addition to her work as a choreographer, Nelson<br />
served on the Zellerbach Community Arts Panel<br />
from 2005 to 2011, ran the summer dance<br />
department for the Center For Creative Youth at<br />
Wesleyan University 2003-2006, and founded the<br />
<strong>ODC</strong> Dance Jam (teen dance company) in 1997.<br />
Over the last 25 years, Nelson has played a major<br />
role in defining and implementing <strong>ODC</strong>’s ongoing<br />
and project-based outreach programs. She has<br />
mentored the the Margaret Jenkins’ Chime Project,<br />
and continues to mentor emerging artists in the<br />
Bay Area and abroad.<br />
Kimi Okada<br />
KIMI OKADA (Associate Choreographer and<br />
<strong>ODC</strong> School Director) is a founding member<br />
of <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance. Her work includes more than<br />
26 choreographed works for <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance,<br />
as well as commissions and collaborations<br />
with Geoff Hoyle, Bill Irwin, Julie Taymor, and<br />
Robin Williams.<br />
Okada has choreographed productions for<br />
the American Conservatory Theater in San<br />
Francisco, Yale Repertory Theater in New<br />
Haven, the New Victory Theater in New York,<br />
Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis,<br />
Theatre for a New Audience in New York,<br />
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the American<br />
Music Theatre Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Los<br />
Angeles Music Center Opera, Los Angeles<br />
Theatre Center, the Pickle Family Circus, and<br />
the San Francisco Mime Troupe. She was<br />
nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway<br />
production of Largely New York, which she<br />
co-choreographed with Bill Irwin. In 2010<br />
she choreographed the ACT production of<br />
Scapin, and The Composer is Dead at Berkeley<br />
Repertory Theater.<br />
Okada choreographed the First Voice<br />
production of Mu, an evening length theater,<br />
dance, and music piece which premiered<br />
at the SF Jewish Community Center in<br />
September 2013. Since 1996, Okada has<br />
served as Director of <strong>ODC</strong> School, which she<br />
has brought to the forefront of international<br />
and national dance education for youth and<br />
adults. She has been honored with a California<br />
State Legislature Assembly Resolution for<br />
choreographic and community contributions.<br />
She directs the <strong>ODC</strong> Dance Jam, one of <strong>ODC</strong>'s<br />
teen companies.<br />
odc.dance 7
dancer<br />
profiles<br />
Jeremy Smith began his professional career with Parsons Dance. He is<br />
twice an Isadora Duncan Dance Award-nominee and once a winner for<br />
ensemble performance. In addition to serving on the advisory boards, he<br />
creatively collaborates with Yayoi Kambara in KAMBARA+Dancers, and<br />
is the Artistic Adviser of Post:Ballet. A former artist with Ben Munisteri<br />
Dance Projects and Lydia Johnson Dance in New York City, he hails<br />
from Miami, FL, and graduated summa cum laude from Florida State<br />
University. Jeremy joined <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in 2007.<br />
Natasha Adorlee Johnson was born in Huntington Beach, CA and<br />
raised in Overland Park, KS. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a<br />
B.A. in English. Natasha was awarded a 2014 Isadora Duncan Dance<br />
Award for her performance in Two if by Sea, choreographed by Kimi<br />
Okada. Natasha trained with American Ballet Theatre, SUNY Purchase<br />
Conservatory of Dance, and was an inaugural member of Alonzo King’s<br />
LINES Ballet training program. She played “Snoopy” in A Charlie Brown<br />
Christmas at the San Francisco Symphony, is a former member of<br />
Robert Moses’ Kin, and has performed as a guest artist with Kate Weare<br />
Company. Natasha is a featured dancer and music composer for the<br />
film Baseballet 2: Into the Game. As Artistic Director of Concept o4,<br />
Natasha has created dance films, live performance work, and teaches<br />
workshops on Screendance. She has previously choreographed for the<br />
European Tanzsomer Festival, Regional Dance America, and numerous<br />
music video projects. Natasha is a singer and music producer for her<br />
solo project and with the group Saint Tiimbre.<br />
Josie G. Sadan grew up in Lagunitas, CA. She trained on scholarship<br />
at Marin Ballet and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since returning to<br />
the Bay Area in 2007, Josie has enjoyed working with choreographers<br />
including Sidra Bell, Manuelito Biag, Molissa Fenley, Amy Foley, and<br />
she is a former member of Robert Moses’ Kin. Josie is also a widely<br />
published writer and holds an M.A. in Communications from Stanford<br />
University. She joined <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in 2013.<br />
8 odc.dance
Brandon Freeman, better known as “Private”, hails from Colorado<br />
and is now in his 14th non-contiguous season (due to a 7-year artistic<br />
walkabout) with <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance. In the Bay Area, Private has also worked<br />
with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Deborah<br />
Slater Dance Theater, Janice Garrett and Dancers, Katie Faulkner<br />
(Little Seismic Dance), Oakland Ballet Company, and Sonya Delwaide<br />
among others; and was a principal dancer in the movie, The Matrix II:<br />
Reloaded. He was a guest artist with the Colorado Ballet, performing<br />
in Glen Tetley’s Le Sacre Du Printemps in 2013, and briefly danced with<br />
Wonderbound in Denver. Freeman received Isadora Duncan Awards for<br />
Ensemble Performance in 2002 with Brian Fisher, in 2012 with Katie<br />
Faulkner, and 2014 with Katherine Wells, for Amy Seiwert’s The Devil<br />
Ties My Tongue. Private is actually a Sergeant after ten years of Army<br />
National Guard service, lives on a yacht, and continues to seek out the<br />
adventure in life.<br />
Jeremy Bannon-Neches was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up<br />
in Augusta, GA where he received his initial training at the Augusta<br />
Ballet School. In 2005, he graduated with honors from the North<br />
Carolina School of the Arts, where he performed leading roles in The<br />
Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Lynn Tailor Corbett’s Lost and Found.<br />
Jeremy then danced with Nevada Ballet Theater, performing principle<br />
roles in George Balanchine’s Rubies, and Serenade, Mathew Neenan’s<br />
At the Border, along with works by Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparoli, James<br />
Canfield, and Thaddeus Davis. Since moving to San Francisco in 2012,<br />
he has worked with Robert Moses' Kin, Post:Ballet, Zhukov Dance,<br />
DawsonDanceSF, and Hope Mohr Dance.<br />
Tegan Schwab grew up in Miami, FL. She graduated summa cum laude<br />
from New World School of the Arts College, and earned a B.F.A. in<br />
Dance from the University of Florida. Tegan began her career in 2005<br />
as a dancer/marionettist in several collaborations with choreographer<br />
Katherine Kramer and the acclaimed marionette/visual artist Pablo<br />
Cano. Tegan moved to San Francisco in 2008, and has had the pleasure<br />
of dancing principal roles as a company member with Dance Through<br />
Time (2008-15), Hope Mohr Dance (2008-15), and Garrett+Moulton<br />
Productions (2011-15). Tegan joined <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in 2015.<br />
odc.dance 9
Alec Guthrie, a Palo Alto, CA native, has enjoyed dancing since early<br />
childhood. He began seriously exploring and training in dance at Ayako<br />
School of Ballet. Alec continued studying dance at UC Irvine’s Claire<br />
Trevor School of the Arts where he was awarded dance scholarships<br />
and graduated in 2013 with a B.F.A. in Dance with a Performance<br />
Specialization. At UCI, Alec worked with Donald McKayle as a member<br />
of his Etude Ensemble. He has also trained and worked with Jodie<br />
Gates, David Allan, Tong Wang, Diane Diefenderfer, Michael Lowe,<br />
and Molly Lynch. He has enjoyed working with choreographers such<br />
as Penny Saunders, Alejandro Cerrudo, Robin Mineko Williams, Carlos<br />
Carvajal, and Dennis Nahat. Alec has had the opportunity to perform<br />
principal roles in Festival Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Neos Dance<br />
Theatre’s contemporary Snow White. From 2013-15, he performed<br />
with both Neos Dance Theatre (Ohio), and Menlowe Ballet.<br />
Daniel Santos was born in Manila, Philippines. His formal dance<br />
training began at the age of 16 with State Street Ballet under the<br />
tutelage of Rodney Gustafson. At 18, he received a full scholarship<br />
with the San Francisco Ballet School. Santos danced with <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance<br />
for 10 years, at the end of which he won an Isadora Duncan Award<br />
for Individual Performance for the 2011/2012 season. In 2012,<br />
Santos decided to leave dance to explore his outdoor endeavors.<br />
He went to The Mountain Training School where he learned to guide<br />
in three disciplines; alpine mountaineering, back country skiing,<br />
and rock climbing. Santos has climbed in Alaska, Spain, and in Chile<br />
(Patagonia). He holds certifications in CPR and Avalanche 1 Rescue.<br />
He is a Wilderness First Responder, and is currently in the process of<br />
completing his Rock Guiding Certification with the American Mountain<br />
Guides Association. After four years in the great outdoors, the stage<br />
was calling. This will be his 11th season with <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance.<br />
10 odc.dance
Keon Saghari was born and raised in Los Gatos, CA. She graduated<br />
summa cum laude from Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet at Dominican<br />
University with a B.F.A. in Dance, and received her early training from<br />
San Jose Ballet School. Keon is a former member of AXIS Dance<br />
Company, with whom she toured nationally and internationally, as well as<br />
ZiRu Dance, with whom she toured in China. She has had the pleasure<br />
of working with choreographers including Marc Brew, Alex Ketley, Bobbi<br />
Jene Smith, Maurya Kerr, Yuri Zhukov, Bianca Mendoza, David Hererra,<br />
and Natasha Adorlee Johnson. Keon is also a certified Bikram Yoga<br />
instructor. Keon joined <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance in <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
Rachel Furst is from Baltimore, MD, where she trained at the Baltimore<br />
School for the Arts. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.F.A.<br />
in Dance from the Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet B.F.A. Program at<br />
Dominican University of California. She has been working for Amy<br />
Seiwert’s Imagery since 2012 and has also had the pleasure of<br />
performing with DawsonDanceSF and Smuin Ballet. This is Rachel's<br />
first season with <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance.<br />
Lani Yamanaka (Apprentice) was born and raised in Carlsbad, CA.<br />
She graduated from UC Irvine with two B.F.A. degrees specializing in<br />
Performance and Choreography. At UCI, she had the privilege to train<br />
with Donald McKayle. As a member of McKayle's Etude Ensemble<br />
she was able to learn, perform, and create repertory with the world<br />
renowned dance legend. Immediately upon graduation, Lani was cast<br />
in Pearl, a multimedia production directed and choreographed by<br />
Daniel Ezralow. The show made its world premiere at the David H. Koch<br />
Theater at Lincoln Center. She has trained with Hubbard Street Dance<br />
Company, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, BODYTRAFFIC, and<br />
Unity 2 Dance Ensemble. Lani was a company member with Entity<br />
Contemporary Dance for 3 years, and is signed with Go 2 Talent Agency.<br />
odc.dance 11
<strong>2016</strong>/<strong>17</strong><br />
season highlights<br />
Sep. 25, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Oct. 7, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Nov. 4, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Nov. 25-Dec. 11, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Nov. 29, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Jan. 8, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Jan. 20 & 21, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Jan. 25, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Feb. 3, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Feb. 11, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Mar. 23-Apr. 2, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Apr. 29, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
Fall For Art, Sonoma, CA<br />
The Battery, San Francisco, CA<br />
Unplugged, <strong>ODC</strong>, San Francisco, CA<br />
The Velveteen Rabbit, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,<br />
San Francisco, CA<br />
Get In Front, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA<br />
APAP – Showcases at City Center, New York City, NY<br />
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA<br />
Rose Lehrman Arts Center, Harrisburg, PA<br />
Unplugged, <strong>ODC</strong>, San Francisco, CA<br />
Luckman Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA<br />
Dance Downtown, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,<br />
San Francisco, CA<br />
Mondavi Center, Davis, CA<br />
Photo by RJ Muna of Triangulating Euclid<br />
12 odc.dance
odc/dance<br />
in the press<br />
“The dancing is always excellent: full-bodied and expansive, without being showy<br />
or brawny.”<br />
–THE NEW YORKER<br />
“The choreography throughout- in solos, duets and ensemble work- is fraught with<br />
simmering tension and drama…it is remarkably unified in style, sleek and powerful,<br />
but restrained”<br />
–HUFFINGTON POST<br />
“In almost everything <strong>ODC</strong> performs—what compels the most is the galvanic audacity<br />
onstage. It’s not just that there’s delight in the seconds of suspension as a body launches<br />
into the air, it’s the satisfaction of seeing the gravitational pull as a dancer catches and<br />
falls into orbit around another—that’s the visceral physicality that makes this kind of dance<br />
so rewarding to watch.”<br />
–SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE<br />
“Whatever the process that the three collaborators engaged in for Triangulating Euclid,<br />
it worked. At first the piece looks like an illustration of basic plane geometry, but it quickly<br />
blossoms into an exuberant celebration of the way dancers inscribe themselves into<br />
space. From the moment a dancer’s leg smudges the carefully drawn line on the floor, you<br />
realize that poetry supersedes science.”<br />
–SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN<br />
“…the major reason to celebrate <strong>ODC</strong> is its artistic achievements…Over the years this<br />
body of work has become formally more sophisticated without losing its humanistic<br />
principals and questioning spirit…”<br />
–DANCE MAGAZINE<br />
“a pivotal and influential mainstay of [San Francisco’s] vibrant dance scene.”<br />
–NEW YORK PRESS<br />
“While many organizations of this age become conservative and “safe,” <strong>ODC</strong> keeps<br />
experimenting and breaking new ground.”<br />
–SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER<br />
“boulders and bones…a colossal triumph of the imagination”<br />
–HUFFINGTON POST<br />
odc.dance 13
<strong>2016</strong>/<strong>17</strong><br />
conference<br />
schedule<br />
Photo by RJ Muna<br />
Western Arts Alliance<br />
Aug. 29-Sep. 1, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Los Angeles<br />
Cafe Tabletop #713<br />
Arts Midwest<br />
Sep. 13-16, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Milwaukee<br />
Booth #431<br />
APAP*<br />
Jan. 6-10, 20<strong>17</strong><br />
New York City<br />
Booth #2416, Hall II<br />
* Company Showcases<br />
at City Center Studio 4<br />
Jan. 8 at 2pm & 8pm<br />
<strong>Touring</strong> support through <strong>ODC</strong>’s Artistic Venture Fund<br />
expands the opportunities for dance patrons to experience<br />
world-class dance. Interested presenters are encouraged to<br />
apply for the <strong>ODC</strong> Artistic Venture and <strong>Touring</strong> Initiative<br />
to receive a partial fee subsidy. For information, contact<br />
Cathy Pruzan at cpruzan@aol.com.<br />
14 odc.dance
conversations<br />
with the artists<br />
Unplugged — <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance’s most popular audience engagement program: a one-hour<br />
presentation of the creative process of a particular work followed by a full run-through of the work,<br />
and an opportunity for Q&A. The choreographer and the dancers take the audience through the<br />
evolution of the piece, demonstrating the genesis, outtakes, and compositional strategies. A very<br />
low-tech event, this can take place in a dance studio, ballroom or a gym. An informal reception<br />
with the choreographer and dancers is encouraged after the event.<br />
Balcony Talks — One hour before a concert, the choreographers talk to audience members<br />
about the colorful history of the company, the works that will be performed, the dance world,<br />
and contemporary culture. Casual, interactive, and responsive to the particular audience.<br />
Curtain Talks — Following the performance, choreographers, and dancers engage in<br />
a discussion of the work and the audience's response.<br />
Institutional Development — A discussion of <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance's campus-building efforts<br />
with emphasis on philosophical vision, program development, community engagement,<br />
and fundraising strategies.<br />
Technical Theater — <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance's Production Manager works with student technical staff<br />
around issues of translation, adaptation, invention, and the challenges of realizing the work<br />
on the road.<br />
odc.dance 15
workshops<br />
with the artists<br />
Immediate Dance — A two-hour class with an <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance choreographer, Brenda Way,<br />
KT Nelson, and/or dancers creating an impromptu dance with a local constituency (of trained or<br />
non-trained movers). <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance choreographers/dancers elicit ideas from participants, and<br />
propose strategies to develop movement material. By the end of the session, the choreographer<br />
composes a work from the invented material and sets it to music. <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance company members<br />
and participants perform the work together.<br />
Studio to Stage — A one and a half hour class for dancers of all skill levels in which <strong>ODC</strong><br />
company members teach solos from the repertory to be performed in concert in the host<br />
community. A variety of solos are selected which adapt to different movement capacities to<br />
highlight the range of repertory and movement ideas and involve all participants in a satisfying<br />
dance experience. Studio to Stage provides a participatory experience and access to a deeper<br />
understanding of the <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance work performed on the stage.<br />
classes<br />
with the artists<br />
Composition Masterclass — A one and a half hour class on composition taught by Brenda Way,<br />
KT Nelson, or dancers based on problem solving. Sources might include personal stories, visual<br />
arts, music compositional strategies, literary themes, theatrical/voice issues, etc. This format is<br />
adaptable to any constituency: e.g. hearing impaired, incarcerated women, seniors, teens, rehab<br />
constituents, children, dance companies, university cohorts from any field of study, etc.<br />
Technique Masterclass — A one and a half hour technique class taught by Brenda Way,<br />
KT Nelson, or dancers. This class explores <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance's movement style–open joints, released<br />
muscles, isolations, weight transference, and a complex physicality combining pedestrian and<br />
highly technical movement.<br />
partners<br />
in creativity<br />
International Exchange Program — <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance collaborates with a dance company based<br />
abroad to foster a deeper understanding of each other’s art and inspire new ideas for creating<br />
dance. Joint performances occur abroad and in the San Francisco-based <strong>ODC</strong> Theater. The<br />
performance format is flexible but typically includes one work from each of the company’s<br />
repertory, a collaborative piece from one of the company’s repertory performed by both<br />
companies together, and/or a newly-composed piece choreographed by Way or Nelson alone<br />
or in collaboration with the international artist.<br />
Creative Partnerships — <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance collaborates with schools, universities, local companies,<br />
and corporations to conduct tailor-made workshops designed to unlock creative potential. This<br />
offers rich partnership opportunities for presenting hosts. The content of the work programmed<br />
for a particular community can also suggest appropriate partnerships; e.g. visual arts, social<br />
justice, environmental issues, gender studies. <strong>ODC</strong> works can be re-imagined in various sites.<br />
16 odc.dance
audience<br />
development<br />
<strong>ODC</strong>/Dance’s staff helps presenting organizations to:<br />
• Identify potential community partners<br />
• Identify salient geographical or social relevancy<br />
• Collaborate with local thought leaders in lectures or talks<br />
• Support local press or media strategy with enticing video, high resolution images,<br />
and media outreach support<br />
<strong>ODC</strong>/Dance’s outreach efforts emphasize creative interaction with <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance’s artistic team.<br />
From lecture-demonstrations, distance learning programs, impromptu performances, short<br />
concerts, and community choreography projects, <strong>ODC</strong>/Dance customizes its activities for<br />
your communities.<br />
Photo by RJ Muna of Invention of Wings<br />
odc.dance <strong>17</strong>
contact information<br />
and staff list<br />
Cathy Pruzan, Booking Agent<br />
415/789.5051<br />
cpruzan@aol.com<br />
odc.dance/presenters<br />
Joseph Copley, Company Manager<br />
415/549.8518<br />
josephc@odcdance.org<br />
Choreographers<br />
Brenda Way, Founder & Artistic Director<br />
KT Nelson, Co-Artistic Director<br />
Kimi Okada, Associate Choreographer<br />
Kate Weare, Resident Choreographer<br />
Executive<br />
Brenda Way, Founder & Artistic Director<br />
Katherine E. Akos, Interim Executive Director<br />
Production<br />
Tony Shayne, Production Manager<br />
Marketing<br />
Neal Spinler, Director of Marketing<br />
Fran Jamison, Marketing Campaign Manager<br />
Oxana Ermolova, Digital Marketing Manager<br />
Mona Baroudi, Publicist<br />
RJ Muna, Company Photographer<br />
Andrew Weeks, Photographer<br />
18 odc.dance
Photo by Andrew Weeks of Walk Back The Cat
Photo by Andrew Weeks of Walk Back The Cat<br />
“The residency was simply brilliant. <strong>ODC</strong> connected with Reno dancers<br />
as well as the community at large. The piece that the dancers and<br />
KT Nelson created for the residency was so true to the environment in<br />
northern Nevada and stole the hearts of all who watched and performed.”<br />
—Beth Macmillan, Executive Director: ARTOWN, Reno, NV. President of Western Arts Alliance<br />
2015/<strong>2016</strong> and recipient of <strong>ODC</strong> Artistic Venture <strong>Touring</strong> Initiative
“This is a world where the movement is as jazzy<br />
as it is athletic, where the women are brash and<br />
the men are beautiful, where rugged individuality<br />
builds team togetherness. No wonder <strong>ODC</strong> has<br />
become a hub for West Coast dance.”<br />
—SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE<br />
Photo by Andrew Weeks of Invention of Wings<br />
odc.dance/presenters