Put on your dancin’ shoes
San Francisco is a dance town. There are a half-dozen professional ballet companies alone, as well as several contemporary companies and a conservatory. And then there’s the Oberlin Dance Collective, known as ODC, in the Mission District. Founded in 1971 by Brenda Way, who trained with Balanchine, it has become a nationally recognized modern dance company and is considered one of the great “dance incubators” in the country, as well.
What drives ODC is the way it interacts with the community, through performances, but also through its many dance classes and workshops. All classes are led by professional dancers who invariably have their own companies or perform at other venues. Classes, which take place in one of five studios, are open to all levels and to one-time visitors. Two of the studios are large enough to handle 100 dancers at a time. Beyond specialized classes in salsa and Latin, jazz, Indian, and African dance, there’s a core class, called Rhythm and Motion, which attracts people of all ages who like to dance and work out at the same time. The accompanying music is an eclectic mix of hip-hop, pop, jazz, and other styles. Each song has its own choreography, which draws from a complete dance vocabulary, and remains the same no matter the teacher. There is no set of rules about “how you’re supposed to dance.”
Info
Address 351 Shotwell Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110, www.odctheathre.org, +1 415.549.8519 | Public Transport Bus: 12 (Folsom St & 18th St stop) | Hours Daily 8am–10pm| Tip The Stable Cafe on 17th and Folsom Street was originally the carriage house of San Francisco’s mayor in 1870, and is now a great place for coffee.
Interestingly, these classes have been so successful that they largely finance the company, along with their two-building campus on Shotwell Street. ODC’s involvement with the community extends to organizing highly choreographed flash mobs, along with participating in the Gay Pride parade and Carnival, one of the city’s great spring festivals.
The professional company has a varied repertoire, including a terrific holiday version of The Velveteen Rabbit. The center has a cafe and a library, and introductory classes are free.
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