Dance Downtown

Dance

Dance Downtown

Presented by ODC/Dance |

March 27–31, 2024

ODC/Dance returns to the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA for Dance Downtown, March 27–31, 2024. Two bracing programs feature world premieres and major reprises by ODC’s Founding Artistic Director Brenda Way, Associate Choreographer Kimi Okada, ODC Fellow KT Nelson and guest choreographer Sonya Delwaide. Both Program A and Program B conclude with Nelson’s exhilarating Dead Reckoning, set to a commissioned score by composer and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud. Springing from the raucous world of cartoon, the front pages of the news, the intimacy of human connection, or the mystery of artistic process, Dance Downtown invites the viewer on a visceral, thought-provoking journey and simply breathtaking dance.

Wed, March 27th, 7:30 PM (Open Dress Rehearsal) – Program A
Thurs, March 28th, 7:30 PM (Opening Night) – Program B
Fri, March 29th, 8:00 PM (Gala) – Program A
Sat, March 30th, 7:30 PM (LGBTQIA+ Night) – Program B
Sun, March 31st, 5:00 PM (Closing Night) – Program A

ODC/Dance

Founded in 1971 by Artistic Director Brenda Way who trained under the legendary George Balanchine, ODC (Oberlin Dance Collective—named after Oberlin College in Ohio where Way was on faculty) loaded up a yellow school bus and relocated to San Francisco in 1976. Her goal was to ground the company in a dynamic pluralistic urban setting. ODC was one of the first American companies to return, after a decade of pedestrian exploration, to virtuosic technique in contemporary dance and to commit major resources to interdisciplinary collaboration and musical commissions for the repertory.

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Lead image: Dance Downtown by RJ Muna
Company image: ODC/Dance by Robbie Sweeny