For Over 50 Years ODC Has Thrived As A Dance Company, School And Creative Incubator. They Credit Their Success To Their Entrepreneurial Spirit

In act II of the musical Sunday in the Park with George an artist is at a museum presenting his futuristic art installation to a group of patrons. “Advancing art is easy,” sings George. “Financing it is not.”

Throughout history, commerce and art, especially when it comes to theater and dance, have struggled to coexist. But ODC (formerly Oberlin Dance Collective), in San Francisco's Mission District, is one colossal exception to the rule. At a time when dance companies to struggle to survive ODC continues to thrive.

A professional dance company and school for 16,000 students ages 2 to 92, ODC is one of the first American contemporary dance institutions to own their own building. And this entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive them. Devoted to preserving space for artists in a city famous for high and rising real estate prices, ODC recently purchased a third building—the one next door to their theater.

Not only do they see the benefit of buying the venue next door as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s also gives them a chance to preserve space for artists. And this is especially true in a city famous for sky high and rising real estate prices. The new building added over 14,400 square feet to ODC’s venues.

Founder and artistic director Brenda Way calls ODC “an art town.” Dedicated to creating a space that benefits all, in addition to the company and school they have a theater that provides a platform for countless touring and local artists, they offer a free health clinic for the dance community, a home base for six dance companies and a meeting place for the public to convene. And when COVID-19 shut down the arts, because ODC owns their own venues, they could offer their partners, tenants and community artists reduced rent or free space to assist them.

“If one thing stands out about ODC, it is that we have always owned our facilities debt-free, giving us options and opportunities that not many dance companies have,” says Way. “We have been able to serve and include literally thousands of artists, students, movers, and patrons who are there for us now when the times are dark. We are, for many, a port in the storm.”

Jeryl Brunner: Can you talk about your foundational belief in inclusion and access? Why was that so important early in your history?

Way: Framed by the women’s movement in New York City in the 1960s, I wanted my art to help redefine beauty, by including different bodies, gender capacity (to include powerful women and poetic men) and ideas of virtuosity, more than high legs and fast turns. I started the company in 1971 at Oberlin College, the first co-ed college to admit women and people of color, so a mix of participants and an appetite for diversity was foundational. The work, no matter what the content of a particular piece, embodied an inclusive view of humanity and gender relationships that were both unusual in those early days.

Brunner: Why was it so key for entrepreneurialism to drive you and how do you marry that with your creative ideals?

Way: Dance is a space-based art form. Owning the means of production in our case means having dominion over the ground on and in which we create. We own three buildings—two of them debt-free, so that we haven’t been subject to the volatility of rental booms and busts. This has allowed us to focus on the task of art-making and advancing the field. Having the facility has not only served as the key accelerator for our own art-making; it has made it possible for us to cultivate and support a broad artistic context, an ecosystem of working artists, audiences, students, writers, productions, and a healthy dancers’ clinic. By taking out a loan to purchase a third building, ODC is investing in the future of the organization and this community.

Brunner: Why was it key that your school serve everyone from children to the elderly?

Kimi Okada, school director and associate choreographer: All the wonderful things about involvement in the arts apply to all ages. Dance brings people together to share an in-person experience for the body, mind, and spirit. No matter what age, in dance there is challenge, accomplishment, joy, and fun. Our school welcomes all to a body positive and non-competitive environment that encourages everyone to dance, no matter what their age or experience. Our campus offers visibility and accessibility to multiple dance forms creating a lively community with connection. For young people in particular, exposure is key to the future of the art form.

Brunner: In addition to having a home for ODC’s own dance company why was it important for ODC to provide a platform for the region's artists?

Chloë Zimberg, creative director, ODC Theater: Through our theater, ODC engages a wide range of artists to ensure the staying power and growth of our arts scenes. ODC Theater presents contemporary dance and movement-based experimental performance, and deeply invests in self-presenting artists of all disciplines. Whether artists are emerging or established, trying out a new idea or touring their repertory work, we welcome them to our stages.

When we talk about ODC as a campus, we think of it as a home, a landing place. We recognize that in order to engage our audiences and communities in the liveliness of dance in the way that we see and feel it on site each day, we need to present them with both the cutting-edge dancers in our flagship company, as well as the collaborative constellation of artists taking choreographic risks nation-wide. By doing so, we honor the collective roots of ODC as a multifaceted organization. And we underscore our commitment to the health of the dance ecosystem and our goal of creating a meaningful space for dialogue, learning, and greater understanding of one another through movement.