Not everybody remembers today that “ODC” was, decades ago, the “Oberlin Dance Collective,” Brenda Way’s lyrical shock troupe from that great school in Ohio. ODC/Dance, still under the guidance of Way, has been venturing out regularly from its San Francisco home, and once again they are on the move, first to the north on Oct. 1, then eastward on Oct. 11, all the way across the Bay Bridge to Berkeley.
There, at Cal Performances, Way, fellow choreographer KT Nelson, landscape artist Andy Goldsworthy, and cellist-composer Zoë Keating combine their work in boulders and bones, described as “tracing the shifting light, changing landscape, and raw natural materials of a Goldsworthy installation.” It is set to an electro-acoustic score composed and performed live by Keating. The piece is accompanied by a video made by RJ Muna and featuring Goldsworthy.
Special residency events are planned around the performance. On Oct. 8 at 11 a.m. in Bancroft Studio, members of ODC/Dance will lead a Stay in One Place Community Dance Event, a dance workshop inspired by Goldsworthy’s art. Participants will create a dance inspired by their experience in nature on the UC Berkeley campus.
On Oct. 11 at noon, Way will participate in a public forum to be held at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), where she will discuss her role as a leading Bay Area dance curator, focusing on boulders and bones as a choreographic response to Goldsworthy’s work. Additionally, Way will join Cal Performances associate director Rob Bailis for a preperformance talk on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall.
Later on, boulders and bones will have its East Coast premiere, Oct. 25–28, as part of the 2017 Next Wave Festival at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, anticipated as a work that “reveals the high drama simmering beneath Goldsworthy’s quiet earthen articulations.”
The Oct. 1 event in Petaluma, “Fall for Art: ODC at McEvoy Ranch,” is an important fundraiser, benefitting ODC/Dance and ODC’s Youth & Teen Scholarship Program.
The McEvoy Ranch venue is in the rolling hills of West Marin County, with 550 acres of olive groves, vineyards, flower and vegetable gardens, and fruit orchards. Guests will be treated to site-specific performances by ODC/Dance, along with lunch and wines served alfresco, and a live auction.
The address is 5935 Red Hill Road, Petaluma, CA 94952. Tickets are available at odc.dance/ffa or by calling (415) 549-8508.