ODC/Dance Presents DRINKS & A DANCE: WALK BACK THE CAT

ODC/Dance invites guests to take a trip back to the 1930s and treat themselves to an evening "in" with Drinks & a Dance, an immersive virtual event, September 10, 2020.

The evening kicks off at 5:15pm PDT with a cocktail class from San Francisco's Stookey's Club Moderne, a lounge evoking the style of post-prohibition San Francisco. After shaking (or stirring) a classic cocktail, guests can sip and settle in for a lively conversation with ODC/Dance Founding Artistic Director and Choreographer Brenda Way and composer Paul Dresher.

A livestream viewing of ODC's Walk Back the Cat culminates the evening. Way's Walk Back the Cat, which premiered in 2016, excavates the circuitous journey of the choreographic process and arrives in a world inspired by visual artist Thomas Hart Benton's muscular and vital murals of American City Life in the 1930s. The work features visuals by photographer RJ Muna, video by Ian Winters, and a commissioned jazz-inspired score and live performance by Paul Dresher and musicians.

The ODC/Dance Company is widely recognized for its rigorous technique and numerous groundbreaking collaborations, balanced with its commitment to accessibility and inclusive dance experiences for all community members through its school and extensive outreach. Comprised of nine world-class dancers, the company performs its imaginative repertory for more than 50,000 people annually. Two annual home seasons in San Francisco include Dance Downtown and the holiday production, The Velveteen Rabbit. Recent highlights include numerous forays into on-line interactive programming, appearances at The Joyce Theater in New York, Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival in New York, MODAFE Festival in Seoul Korea, Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, Royce Hall at UCLA and in past years, standing-room-only engagements in Europe, Russia, and Asia.

Founded in 1971 by Artistic Director Brenda Way, ODC is known nationally for entrepreneurial savvy and was the first modern dance company in the United States to build a home facility, the ODC Theater. In 2005, ODC expanded its campus to include the ODC Dance Commons, which houses ODC/Dance, ODC/School, a Pilates studio, cafe, and a Healthy Dancers' Clinic.