Returning

Choreography and performance: Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye

Animation: Zendan Nhangkar

Instrumental Music: Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts

Song: Dradul Nyenkyong

About the work:
Returning is a solo production that untangles the resilience, displacement, and adaptive nature of the Tibetan identity. Set within a dreamscape blurred between weight and possibility, the solo yearns for a return to homeland and explores how one preserves culture despite pressures that seek to distract and erase. Drawing from language and movement, the piece examines how these degrees of separation impact the physical body.

About the Artist:
Tshedzom is a Tibetan-American body-based artist working between dance, theater, durational performance, installation, and music. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she received her BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and since has been dancing between coasts. Tshedzom engages with the physical body as an extension of identity and vehicle to liberation. Drawn to the transitional spaces where emotions blur and layer, she aims to generate atmospheres that echo our current realities while expanding our public imagination. Her work has been presented with The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Marina Abramović Institute, On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, Northwest Film Forum, CO-, Yakpo Collective, and Tibet Film Festival. She currently serves as an artist circle member with Velocity Dance Center. As a performer and collaborator, she has worked with artists and companies including Alice Gosti, Fox Whitney, Alyza DelPan-Monley, Skye Hughes, Boston Early Music Festival, and HYBRIDMOTION Dance Theatre.

Primal Rhythms

Concept & Direction: Akhil Joondeph,  Amit Patel, & Ishika Seth

Choreography: Akshay Radia, Amit Patel & Ishika Seth with significant contributions from the performers

Performers: Akhil Joondeph, Akshay Radia, Ekta Doshi, Ishika Seth & Sakshi Prabhu

Music: Akhil Joondeph

Costumes: Ishika Seth

Ishami Dance Company is a South Asian Contemporary Dance Company driven by innovation. Our work exists at the intersection of commercial and experimental, traditional and modern – blending South Asian dance forms with global movement vocabularies to create experiences that are culturally grounded and artistically expansive. We tread the line between traditional and modern - honoring heritage while embracing experimentation, complexity, and new ways of storytelling, centering queer narratives, women’s voices and diasporic experiences. We aspire to showcase the beauty, depth, and immense range of South Asian contemporary movement with audiences locally and across the globe.

Akhil Joondeph is a dancer and choreographer from the Bay Area. His work centers queerness, thinks beyond genre, and imagines new and inclusive worlds through movement. His work is both commercial and contemporary, ranging from viral, short dance films to evening-length works like “Manchapravesh” (2025). He is currently the creative director of Ishami Dance Company, and his choreography with Ishami has been featured in the Fresh Meat Festival, FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival, Mandala Makers Festival, World of Dance Choreographer Showcase, and beyond. His dance films have been screened internationally, including at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and the International Choreographic Festival of Blois. He is a musician and composer, and has been the sound designer for award-winning dance productions like Drasti Mody’s “Paheli,” Ishami Dance Company’s “Pehchaan,” and beyond. He also regularly teaches community classes, and has performed on the main stage at San Francisco Pride, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, San Francisco International Arts Festival, and more.

Akshay Radia is a versatile dancer, choreographer, and DJ who explores movement and music, drawing inspiration from a range of global disciplines. He began his dance journey as a young freestyler and b-boy, developing his initial style primarily through battling. He built a strong foundation in music and developed a thirst for improvisation through his extensive training in Hindustani classical music as a vocalist for nine years. Akshay’s passion for fusion stems from his experience as a first-generation Indian-American, which exposed him to the growing influence of South Asian art forms alongside the evolving culture of Hip Hop in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over a decade of professional dance experience, Akshay has trained in various styles, including modern and traditional Bollywood, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, and Acro.

Amit Patel is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Ishami Dance Company. As a first-generation born Indian-American, Amit strives to fuse his South Asian culture with his training in global dance forms to create an idiom of Indian contemporary dance. Amit is equally notable for his rebellious pieces in heels, which challenge the norms of sexual identity in dance. He is dedicated to creating safe spaces for dancers and bringing forth untold stories through his work. He has toured worldwide teaching classes, performing, and creating safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.  His goal as an artist is to create work and communities that have the potential to unite, inspire, and empower people across generations and cultures.

Ekta Doshi's love for dance began at a young age through Bollywood and Bharatanatyam. She toured as a Bharatanatyam dancer with Shakti Dance Company under the guidance of Guru Viji Prakash for over ten years. She was also part of her college Bhangra and Indian Classical dance teams and has performed at many events for several dance companies in LA in Bollywood, Jazz, and Jazz Funk. She was also a Raiderette, the team that dances for the Oakland Raiders. Ekta is currently a part of the international touring ensemble for Akram Khan Company's "Thikra."

Ishika Seth is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director Ishami Dance Company. She has been a choreographer, dancer and dance educator for twenty years and has presented her work at various festivals and venues in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. She has self-produced productions, choreographed festivals, tours and theatrical productions. She received her BA in Dance from San Jose State University and her BA in English Literature in India.In her works, she strives to blend elements of her cultural background with her training in modern, contemporary, Katahk, Mayurbhanj Chhau and various global dance forms to examine and dismantle social constructs, and to find the intersection between art & activism.

Sakshi Prabhu Born in the Bay Area, Sakshi began her dance journey at the age of four, performing and competing as a bollywood dancer. She studied Kathak for over ten years, making her solo debut in a feature length show. She trained and taught classes with the Mona Khan Company, where she also received training in various dance forms including jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. Through dance, she loves connecting with others, sharing her culture, and telling stories through movement.

Cluck

Choreography: Shannon Hummel in collaboration with the dancer*

Performance: Sarah McCullough

Music: “Poemes juifs, Op. 34: 1, Chant de Nourrice” by Darius Milhaud, performed by Gyorgyi Dombradi & Lambert Bumiller; “Nachtlied, Op. 96, No. 1 by Robert Schumann, performed by Dawn Upshaw and Richard Goode.

*Cluck was originally performed by Nadia Tykulsker and premiered at the BAM/Brooklyn Academy of Music's Fisher Theater in 2015. Cynthia Thompson later commissioned Cluck, presenting the re-imagined version at the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts at James Madison University in 2016 and performed it widely for 6 years. Inspired by Thompson, Sarah McCullough now graciously makes this bird fly into its second decade of performance. Hummel wishes to thank all of these tremendously talented artists for their willingness, vulnerability, humor, and hours of hospitality over many meals of roast chicken and lemonade that follow this fun and rewarding process. Thank you all!

Description of the work: 
Cluck is a poignant and striking solo exploring the power of denial. At its heart, the piece is a tenderly absurd love duet between the soloist and a highly improbable partner—a raw chicken. Through this unconventional pairing, Cluck delves into themes of longing, delusion, and the human capacity to cling to hope, no matter how improbable. Romantic, unsettling, and unexpectedly moving, Cluck balances elegance and discomfort, capturing the audience in its raw emotional core. A short yet impactful piece, Cluck is both graceful and grotesque, inviting viewers to reflect on the unexpected beauty within the absurd.

Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a movement enthusiast, Sagittarius, cat mom, and amateur gardener. She is a highly collaborative, chameleonic artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform works that center humanity, vulnerability, and play.

Originally from Virginia, Sarah attended James Madison University, and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. She has enjoyed a vibrant and dynamic dance career, having performed with companies ARENA DANCES and Black Label Movement, and in projects by choreographers Elayna Waxse, Taja Will, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Helen Hatch, Rachel Lieberman, Zoë Koenig, and more. Sarah began working with VA/NYC-based company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance as a collaborating dance artist in 2024. She is currently a member of ARENA DANCES, which pivoted to a contemporary repertory model in 2025 and is in its second season.

In addition to her work as a performer, Sarah is the resident dramaturg for Amez Dance and an educator in contemporary forms. Sarah has led contemporary classes at The Arena, Hothouse Studios, Zenon Dance School, Minnesota Dance Theater, Saint Paul Ballet, the Limón/Black Label Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES' Instinct Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, and several high school and studio dance programs throughout the country. She moonlights as a yoga/group fitness teacher, offering a holistic approach to mindful movement as a personal and artistic practice. 

Shannon Hummel (she/her) is a choreographer, educator, and visionary leader dedicated to using dance as a tool for connection, inclusion, and community-building. Through her company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, she merges professional artistry with a deep commitment to accessibility, creating emotionally engaging work that bridges divides and ensures that high-quality dance reaches those who have historically been excluded.

Hummel’s choreography has been performed in venues ranging from BAM/Brooklyn Academy of Music and NYLA/New York Live Arts to unconventional "everyday" spaces, embodying her belief that dance belongs everywhere and to everyone. Her work has been described by The New York Times as "a rare gem" and “poignant, funny, and vividly true,” reflecting her ability to capture both the personal and the universal.

An educator for 30 years, Hummel founded two exceptional equity-focused dance centers: Cora Dance Brooklyn (2009) in Red Hook, Brooklyn and Cora Dance Alleghany (2020) in Clifton Forge, VA offering thousands of students FREE and pay-what-you-can training by professional artists. She has been recognized by such institutions as the National Endowment for the Arts, NYSCA, and the 2020 NY Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards for Service to the Field. She remains inspired to create new work, meet new artists, and engage with new communities to use dance as a tool for good. 

a place for us to rest

Choreography: Megan O’Brien in collaboration with dancers

Performed by: Caleb Daly, Courtney Mazeika, Morgan Phillips

Music: Megan O’Brien, Prm, Gia Margaret

Costume Design: Caleb Daly

A place for us to rest, created by Megan O'Brien (Salt Lake City) and reimagined from the 2023 iteration, is an idyllic daydream exploring the physical manifestation of closure. The piece addresses the artist's deep internal desire for rest, relief, and joy for all versions of themselves—past, present, and future.

Featuring a trio of dancers who each represent aspects of a single person, the movement explores a complex self-portrait. It is performed by her dear friends and collaborators, Caleb Daly, Courtney Mazeika, and Morgan Phillips. The work ultimately offers a symbolic place of rest and peace.

Remembering that joy and pain coexist. It aims to expand the conversation around the limited view of the "perfect, abled body" by sharing an internal experience of living with a disability that is not always visible on the surface.

About the artists :

Megan O’Brien (choreographer, she/her)
Megan O’Brien is a dancer/artist born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is currently a dancer for Repertory Dance Theatre and has performed many works by many wonderful choreographers. Living with complex chronic illness/disability for the majority of her life, dance and movement has been both a lifesaving source of joy and at other times heartbreaking. Because of this complicated relationship to her own body, she is compelled to share her passion for accessible art with the community through teaching and independent choreographic projects that encourage agency in one’s own body. She believes in softness as a strength, adaptability, nurturing curiosity, and most importantly the practice of truly listening. She is a human who loves to read, write, build worlds, swim in the ocean, take photos with old cameras and snack on salt n’ vinegar chips.

Caleb Daly (performer, collaborator, costumer; they/them)
Caleb Daly is originally from Cheyenne, WY. From a young age, they felt drawn to the mix of arts and movement. At eight they began their dance journey training in a wide range of styles and techniques. Wanting to further their education, they attended the University of Wyoming and received a BFA in Dance Performance. Caleb danced with and costumed for Repertory Dance Theatre from 2022-2026. Through these experiences, they have been able to continue their development as an artist. They value diverse representation in the arts and believe in highlighting new voices and fresh perspectives allows for dance to evolve. To them, it’s what makes dance feel most connected to our humanity.

Courtney Mazeika (performer, collaborator; she/her)
Courtney Mazeika is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Houston, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, then trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance where she later joined as faculty. As a performer, she has worked with UNA Productions, Hind Legs (Ben Green), Tom Weinberger, David Harvey, Christian Burns, Alex Ketley, and more. Her choreography has been shared at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition, Adaptations Dance Theater (HI), Contemporary Dance Wyoming, SALT Contemporary Dance, SALT2, 801 Salon, and many universities. She was a member of Norrdans for the 2022-23 season.

Morgan Phillips (performer, collaborator; she/her)
Morgan Phillips is a freelance dance artist originally from Mesa, Arizona. She began her dance training at a local studio before relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah to further pursue contemporary dance. There, she performed with Salt Contemporary Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theater's Emerge, Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, Myriad Dance, Cat + Fish Dances, LajaMartin, The Woods Project, SB Dance Company and more. Alongside contemporary dance, Morgan is a pole artist who has created and performed original works rooted in contemporary movement. Since relocating to Austin, Texas, she has collaborated with konverj/Austin and TY&CO.

Star Light (excerpt / work-in-progress)

Choreography & Performance: Karla Quintero

Sound Design: Diego Munguia

Prop Design: Jonathan Mindes

Music: "Express Yourself" by Madonna; “Sweet Dreams” by La Bouche; and samples from “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears; “Don’t Walk Away” by Jade; “That’s the Way Love Goes,” by Janet Jackson; “Express Yourself” and “Open Your Heart” by Madonna; “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey”; “Weak” by SWV; “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston

Text: Excerpted lyrics from: "Express Yourself,” “Open Your Heart,” “Vogue,” “Burning Up,” and “Justify My Love” by Madonna; “Fantasy” Mariah Carey; “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Control” by Janet Jackson; “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston; “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears; “Don’t Walk Away” by Jade

About Star Light
Star Light is an improvised solo exploring my complicated relationship with pop music.  Through dance, voice, text, costume, and music, I explore pop influences as both seduction and trap, entering its fantasy in an attempt to reclaim desire, agency, and personal expression from within the spectacle itself. 

Karla Quintero is a dance artist based in Huichin/Oakland. Her cross-genre improvisation practice draws from contemporary, club, and partner dance and somatic practices, and is shaped through years of practicing, researching, and collaborating in interdisciplinary contexts. Grounded in listening and persistence, her work invites meaning to emerge through the act of dancing together. She investigates the conditions that make it possible to persist in dance—joyously and rigorously—over a lifetime, from movement practices and artistic collaboration to expanding ideas of what dance is and can be.

Karla works nationally as a performer and has appeared in works by choreographers Cauveri Suresh, Gerald Casel, Hope Mohr, Robert Moses, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Aura Fischbeck, Risa Jaroslow, and Jo Kreiter, among others. Her performance work has been recognized with an Isadora Duncan Dance Award.

Collaboration is central to Karla's practice. Over the past five years, she has co-led ALLOYED METTLES, a dance practice with movement artist Belinda He; GRUMN with Shareen DeRyan, producing dance horror media and film; interdisciplinary improvisation research with musician Lewis Jordan; and I, HOUDINI, an evening-length dance theater work being developed with choreographer Catherine Galasso and sound artist Dave Cerf, inspired by the meeting point between Harry Houdini's legacy and the collaborators' artistic practices. These projects have been supported through residencies at Dance Nucleus (Singapore), Loghaven (Knoxville), Temescal Arts Center (Oakland), and Finnish Hall (Berkeley, courtesy of senseobject).

Alongside these collaborations, Karla is developing STAR LIGHT, a solo performance project exploring pop music as both seduction and trap. (IG: @karlajohannaquintero)

CP#!

Concept & Direction: Charlie Slender-White

Choreography: Charlie Slender-White with significant contributions from the performers

Performers: LizAnne Roman Roberts, Keanu Brady, Erin Coyne, Jonathan Kim

Music: Charli XCX

Costumes: Sporadic Assembly + Pivot Group

FACT/SF is a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company, founded in 2008 by Charlie Slender-White as a platform for organizing collaborators, building community, and creating choreography. FACT/SF is a Home Company at ODC Theater, regularly performs in the San Francisco Bay Area, maintains a core group of local collaborators, and has developed an extensive international network of partners. FACT/SF has premiered 42 works, with tours throughout the US, across Russia, and to Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Macedonia. FACT/SF’s Fieldwork programs provide support and material resources to contemporary dance artists outside FACT/SF.

About the Artists

Keanu Forrest Brady (he/they) is a San Francisco-based dance artist working at the intersection of contemporary improvisation, hip-hop and post-modern movement forms. Keanu received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Modern Dance at the University of Utah. Over the years, he has worked closely as a performer and creative collaborator with various San Francisco based companies and arts nonprofits such as LEVYdancy (2017-2021), AXIS dance company, ODC, Kinetech, and Sarah Shelton-Mann, alongside other local choreographers and drag performers. Within the United States, he has worked on stage and screen with Carl Flink, Eric Handman, Satu Hummasti and Scotty Hardwig, among others. His performance work has allowed him to tour within the United States and Internationally. He is currently a company member of FACT/SF since 2018, as well as serving on the board of directors as Dancer Liaison as of 2022. If you are unable to find him dancing in the studios, stages and streets of San Francisco, you can find him on instagram, @keanu.dance.

LizAnne Roman Roberts fell in love with dance at age four after seeing Giselle on TV in her hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Honored to have been working in the profession of her dreams for over twenty years, LizAnne began her career with Tulsa Ballet while finishing high school and earning a BFA at the University of Oklahoma. She has worked with various artists throughout the Bay Area, including collaborating with FACT/SF since 2012. LizAnne has appeared internationally in Avignon and Claremont-Ferrand, France; Belgrade, Serbia; and Sofia, Bulgaria as well as across the United States. LizAnne is the mother of two, and lives in Oakland, CA. She is also a certified Pilates instructor.

Erin Coyne is a San Francisco-based dance artist and educator. Originally from the Chicago area, Erin received dual degrees in Dance & Education from the University of Minnesota. She has worked with Kinetech Arts, Lizz Roman & Dancers, Paufve Dance, FACT/SF, and others. Erin co-produces and directs the dance + social event, Flight.

Jonathan Kim is a dance artist from Southern California. He performed with Repertory Dance Theatre for five seasons and previously worked with SALT Contemporary Dance, SJDanceCo, and Lineage Dance Company, among others. His choreographic and teaching philosophy examines choice-making, community, softness, listening, and the queer experience. 

Charlie Slender-White is a choreographer, teacher, performer, and organizer, and the Artistic Director of FACT/SF. Charlie believes that artists deserve a living wage and that artists’ labor should be recognized, and he utilizes FACT/SF as a framework to realize these values, make art, and engage community. He began his career in 2006 as a dancer with Provincial Dances Theatre in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and has since created more than 40 original works. Charlie's choreography has been commissioned by ODC Theater, CounterPulse, the US Department of State, and numerous others. He is one of 56 Countertechnique Teachers worldwide, teaches on faculty at the American Dance Festival, and served as a Guest Curator and Resident Strategist at ODC Theater from 2021-2023. Charlie completed his undergraduate degrees in Dance & Performance Studies and English Literature at UC Berkeley.

MISSION AND IMPACT:

ODC is dedicated to the lifecycle of the artistic process. Through our company, school and theater, we aim to inspire audiences, cultivate artists, engage community, and foster diversity and inclusion through dance.

ODC Theater exists to empower and develop innovative artists. It participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship and space access; it develops informed, engaged and committed audiences; and advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the economic and cultural development of our community. This 170-seat venue is the site of over 150 performances a year involving nearly 1,000 local, regional, national and international artists.

Since 1976, ODC Theater has been the mobilizing force behind countless San Francisco artists and the foothold for national and international touring artists seeking debut in the Bay Area. The Theater, founded by Brenda Way has earned its place as a cultural incubator by dedicating itself to creative change-makers, those leaders who give the Bay Area its unmistakable definition and flair. Nationally known artists Spaulding Gray, Diamanda Galas, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Karole Armitage, Sarah Michelson, Brian Brooks and John Heginbotham are among those whose first San Francisco appearance occurred at ODC Theater. 

ODC Theater is currently under the Creative Direction of Chloë L. Zimberg, and is a proud member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Western Arts Alliance, and Dance/USA. 

For more information on ODC Theater and all its programs please visit: odc.dance/theater

ODC Theater relies on the generous support of donors like you. 

To give to ODC Theater, visit odc.dance/support-theater

ODC is on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush People in Yelamu. We pay respects to elders past and present, who are still here and part of our community. We recognize that regenerative land management is not new, but is a continuation of practices from Native cultures and from our own ancestors. It is our responsibility to steward the land with care, as our elders did before us.

ODC is donating $.50 for each in-person ticket (seat) sold to all performances in the Theater. ODC will donate these funds to the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone land tax fund.

ODC THEATER STAFF:

ODC Founder and Artistic Director Brenda Way

Executive Director Carma Zisman

ODC Theater Creative Director Chloë L. Zimberg

ODC School Director & Associate Choreographer
Kimi Okada

ODC Theater Resident Curator Maurya Kerr

ODC Theater Resident Curator Zaquia Mahler Salinas

ODC Fellow
KT Nelson

ODC Chief of Staff Garth Grimball

Director of Production Thomas Bowersox

Production Coordinator Chris Chamberlin-Miner

Audience Services Manager Katya Oleinikov

Theater Associate, Outreach Coordinator
Shayna Ann Howlett

Director of Marketing & Communications
Sophie Leininger

Publicist
John B. Hill

FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF:

AJ Ong Cortez, Senior Associate

Faith Alexis Dalton, Senior Associate

Callie Norberg, Senior Associate

Hannah Cohen

Johnny Cox

Sophia Grimani

Price Little

Leilana Majri

Valerie Mendez

Annika Mikk

Azriel Perez

Sydney Katheryne Scott

brooke terry

Hannah Woolfenden

ODC TECHNICIANS:

Taylor Rivers

Mary Clare Blake-Booth

Colin Johnson

Heather Romanowski

Shy Baniani

June Whitehorse

Crystal Liu

Angelina Costa