ODC Theater: ODC/Dance presents: Summer Sampler

Savor the sweetness of summer with a taste of ODC/Dance. Experience the newly premiered and critically acclaimed Collision, Collapse and a Coda by Founding Artistic Director Brenda Way, ODC/Dance Associate Choreographer Kimi Okada and Way’s deeply intimate May’s Letters, as well as new works premiered by guest choreographers Dexandro Montalvo and Sonya Delwaide.

Discounted Tickets
Have a night out with friends at Summer Sampler! ODC is offering a group discount of 10% off orders of 6+ tickets. Use code ‘ODC10’ at checkout.

About the Work

Collision, Collapse and a Coda by Brenda Way
Collision, Collapse and a Coda delivers a rousing response to the daily barrage of news, disasters and disruptive events, and the solace we find in the care and affection of intimate relationships. Collision, Collapse and a Coda premiered at ODC/Dance presents: Dance Downtown 2023 and is hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as work that “brims with movement that marries ferocity to precision.”

May’s Letters by Kimi Okada and Brenda Way
May’s Letters, choreographed by ODC/Dance Associate Choreographer Kimi Okada and ODC Founding Artistic Director Brenda Way, is an intimate portrayal of Okada’s parent’s life as newlyweds. They were detained in a Japanese American incarceration camp, where Okada’s mother, May, wrote letters that are read aloud as part of the score. Through this work, Okada conveys a deeply personal narrative filled with tales of bleak conditions, indomitable spirit, and also love, humor, and grace.
Of May’s Letters Okada says, “Her letters surface the timely issue of how we cope with the injustices of racism and the confines of imprisonment. While the piece explores the question of how one responds to a national betrayal, it is ultimately about the power of community that allows each person to find a path to resilience.”

Interconnected Humanity by Dexandro Montalvo
Dexandro Montalvo’s newest work, premiering at this year’s Summer Sampler, is a sextet set to ambient music by film score composer Cliff Martinez. The work, in Montalvo’s words, “explores the intricate interplay of human relationships with an eye to the forces that bring people together or cause them to drift apart.”

C’est frette! by Sonya Delwaide
Sonya Delwaide’s newest work, premiering at this year’s Summer Sampler, is a sextet set to Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 in F minor. “With a playful nod to San Francisco’s famously cold summers, the piece asks audiences to experience winter in Québec while right in the middle of summer,” said Delwaide. “Wherever you go, people love to talk about the weather. In its hardships and unpredictability, it offers a shared platform for human connection.”