Currently touring Switzerland, the Oberlin Dance Company (ODC), has continued to delight Bay Area audiences with their athletic, yet elegant, dance style for the past twenty-seven years.

“It’s a white knuckle thrills ride,” says Brenda Way, Artistic Director and founding member of ODC, in describing the process of what it has taken to keep her contemporary dance company in operation for nearly thirty years. “It’s been a rocky road,” says Way. “One year we get financial support, another year, we don’t. We’re always riding the edge.”

In spite of the ups and downs, ODC has survived — a goal Way claims is the very definition of success in the world of post-modern dance. “Survival may sound like a low goal, but it’s actually a high one,” says Way, crediting “the collective grit and will” of her partners, staff and members as having made it possible for ODC to have flourished for such a long time.

ODC prides itself on its ethnically rich identity; the dancers originate from Nicaragua, Brazil and Bolivia, as well as from the United States. The company is unique in other ways as well. For example, the performers are older than most dancers from other companies. In addition, ODC’s dancers come from a variety of backrounds, from those who are well-trained in ballet, to acrobats, musicians, and even a former marketing director. 

Besides creating powerfully, dynamic dance pieces, ODC maintains a theater, a school for children and adults, and an outreach program. “It’s partly our vision to let people know about dance,” says KT Nelson, Co-Artistic Director. To this end, ODC approaches schools with their dance version of the Velveteen Rabbit, as well as presenting programs to drug rehabilitation centers, women’s centers, and other facilities.

How does a dance become a dance?

According to Nelson, there are three specific ways of putting movement together. One way is to construct a phrase, such as an orchestral sequence of a certain number of beats. Another way is to create a texture such as by using sound effects whereby a certain flavor is established. And a third way is to be imagistic, a more theatrical approach whereby the timing is organic in the sense that it is not set to a beat. 

“It’s complex,” says Nelson. “Every choreographer has their own style and their own artistic process. I start by creating a rough draft for a sound score that follows an emotional or dynamic line.” Using a home tape recorder, Nelson records sounds and special effects to give her the qualities she wants to express in a dance piece — sensations of cold or warmth, or a dramatic tone, for example. The score, which will ultimately be refined by a composer, allows the dancers to orient themselves within the piece. 

Nelson draws inspiration for her work from images, personal experiences, the past, the present, and from dreams. “All of our dances are thematic,” says Nelson. “The spirit behind ODC is about investigating ideas. For example, I’m working on a playful piece called, “On the Loose” which is all about chasing, escaping, and catching.  I think there is a game that people play on all sorts of levels which resembles a cat and mouse chase. I’m exploring this theme of behavior in kids and adults.” 

According to Way, the material in the work, is in many cases, familiar to the audience. “We amplify the language of gesture that people in our culture use,” says Way. “For example, if I was to run my hands through my hair, that would be a gesture I might use in a piece. Or I might use a wiggle of a shoulder, the kind of gesture you might make if you had an itch on your back. A movement might refer to the feelings we get, for example, when we move that shoulder or when we scratch our head. Or sometimes I might use a gesture as an abstract choreographic idea.”

 Although Nelson and Way acknowledge an element of ballet in their work, they are quick to distinguish ODC from classical ballet. “When a ballet dancer runs across the stage, he turns his calves outward in a ballet style pose to run. In the ODC style of dancing, when we run across a stage, we just run across the stage. We use an athletic run as compared to a ballet run,” says Way. “We’re just as trained as ballet dancers, but we’re interested in taking the movement from an athletic place into a more expressive place.” 

If you are interested in pursuing the path of movement, Nelson offers the following advice:  “Find out how you like to move. Observe martial artists, dancers, or sports figures. Notice what you find beautiful. Next figure out how you can train in it. If you want to choreograph, ask yourself, “What is it in that movement that you need to explore in order to express yourself more fully? Everything depends on what you’re after in your piece.”