Dear friends and family,

Dance has gifted me with one of the most special things most don’t get to experience—an escape from reality. Dancing along with its creative expression and physical movement means so much to me and this year I’ve furthered my commitment to the art by joining ODC’s teen contemporary dance company, ODC Dance Jam. 

Though this is my first, and unfortunately only year being part of the Jam, I am forever grateful for what I have learned from all the artists we are privileged enough to work with. The Jam means so much to me not only because of the physical experiences within the studio but because of everyone who makes up the Jam (the jamily!). The 15ish hours a week I spend in the studio wouldn’t be the same without the 7 other Jam members and I am so honored to dance alongside people who encourage and lift each other up all the time. Dancing with the Jam has filled up my schedule and pushed my muscles and my time management skills far beyond what I thought I could handle but the fulfillment I feel is more than worth it. 

This year, our home season From the Ground Up will be performed Saturday, April 19th and Sunday, April 20th. Alongside incredible pieces by Kimi Okada, Bliss Kohlmyer, and KT Nelson, From the Ground Up will showcase two world premiere pieces from Babatunji Johnson and Dexandro Montalvo. I am so excited to hopefully be able to share the pieces we have been working on all school year for you. I hope to see you there! 

The ODC Dance Jam is an incredibly special program as we fund and produce our own season. Fundraising, advertising, program/flier design, ticketing, press releasing, and more are all done by us! Though not necessary, the rest of the Jam and I would greatly appreciate you if you considered donating! Your donation would help with the production of our season—videographers, lighting, a beautiful reception for you to enjoy, and so much more. You can donate here. Any amount is welcome!

Again, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported my passion and commitment to this art. 

With much love,
Chloe Lau

Chloe Lau

My name is Ella and this is my third year in the Jam. I'm so excited to share our home season From The Ground Up on April 19 and 20. We hope to see you there!

Ella Ford

Dear Family and Friends,

As you might be aware of, I have a deep passion for dance. Over the past ten years, I have developed skills in multiple genres, taking a wide variety of technique classes and once performing in a company for a period of time. More than just being an engaging activity and a means of staying active, I find immense joy in dance, it being a creative outlet and a form of expression through movement.

As of September, I joined the Dance Jam, the teen contemporary dance company of ODC, located in the Mission District of San Francisco. As a part of this group, I dance every day after school for approximately fourteen hours a week. The schedule involves training in ballet, contemporary, and Pilates, as well as dedicated hours towards rehearsal time. In the Jam, we not only take classes and learn repertoire from various professional choreographers, but we also produce our own home season. This includes all components of a performance, from funding and marketing to flyers and ticket sales - we handle every aspect.

While the Dance Jam’s rigorous schedule takes up a large quantity of my time and energy, I benefit tremendously. Becoming a part of the Jam has helped me to grow both technically and artistically in dance. I have better learned how to manage my time and remain organized amidst a hectic workload. Most impactful, however, are the great friendships I have found and the opportunities I have had to work with outstanding instructors and artists. The Jam has truly become like family.

This year, ODC Dance Jam’s 2025 season, From the Ground Up, falls on the weekend of April 19th and 20th. During this performance, we will get the chance to showcase the five unique pieces we have tirelessly worked on for the past several months. In addition to buying tickets for our show, donations are another way to support us. Any amount you give makes a huge impact because it helps provide for our lighting design, videographers, beautiful reception, and overall production. Each contribution is sincerely appreciated. 

I’m grateful for all your support in my journey as a dancer. I hope to see you during our season! 

With gratitude,
Rylan-Christian Pon

Rylan-Christian Pon

Dear friends and family,

I have always loved dancing from the time I was little. As you may know, I have spent the past few years taking numerous classes, training in a variety of different styles and techniques. Over time, dance has become increasingly special to me and is now one of the most important aspects of my life. 

In 2023 I joined the ODC Dance Jam, a teen dance company consisting of seven dancers. Together we train for fourteen hours a week, taking classes in ballet, contemporary, composition, and Pilates, as well as learning performance repertory. This intensive training has improved not only my technique, but my experience in the professional world of dance.

Dance has allowed me to grow as a person in a multitude of ways, giving me a space to express myself, explore my creativity, and expand my knowledge.

The Dance Jam has become my family during this past year, and this Spring, we get the chance to showcase our love for dance in our home season performance, which will take place on April 13th and 14th. Your donation to support this production would be greatly appreciated, as it would help provide videographers, lighting design, flyers, programs, and a beautiful reception. Your contribution will allow the ODC Dance Jam to continue to help teenagers express themselves, as it did for myself and my fellow Jam members. 

With overwhelming appreciation,
Josie Jamison

Josie Jamison

I'm Ruby, and this is my third year in the Dance Jam! Your support is greatly appreciated, and will go towards things like programs, lighting, costumes, and our reception. Thank you for your contribution!

Ruby Chen

Dear Friends and Family,

I’m excited to announce ODC Dance Jam’s 2025 home season, From the Ground Up, on April 19th and 20th! The Dance Jam will be presenting five dance pieces by award winning choreographers, including two world premieres. For those that don’t know, the Dance Jam is a contemporary teen dance company located at ODC Dance in the mission. For decades, teen dancers have trained and worked tirelessly on performing and producing a home season. We are responsible for all aspects of the show including the programs, flyers, press release, marketing, fundraising and ticket sales. The price of tickets does not cover all the costs of putting on this production so to make our season come to life please consider giving an additional donation. We appreciate your support in any amount. Most of all, your presence at the shows would mean a lot to me and I would love to see you all there.

And lastly, I want to thank each and every one of you who donated and/or came to our season, Intertwined. Your donation played a valuable role in producing last year's show.

With much love,
Ever Keegstra

Ever Keegstra

Hi, my name is Julia and this is my third and final year being a part of the ODC Dance Jam. After countless hours spent both rehearsing and organizing its production, we are proud to present the culmination of our hard work this year in our annual home season show, From the Ground Up! We would greatly appreciate donations of any size to help make this show as successful as possible. Your donation would help provide for videographers, lighting, a beautiful reception, and much more. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Julia Ahn

Dear family and friends,

As you know, I have been a passionate dancer my whole life, studying ballet, contemporary, and modern dance. I have danced at various studios around San Francisco, but none of them have had the impact on my life that ODC has. I am currently in my third and last year in the Dance Jam, ODC’s resident teen contemporary company, and the growth I’ve experienced within myself and witnessed from my peers is unbelievable. Five days a week, the eight company members study various dance techniques and practice choreography under the instruction of talented professionals.

Being in the Jam has completely changed me as a dancer by fostering my own creativity and training me with top-tier technique. I absolutely love the supportive community here at ODC, and some of my closest friendships have been created through this program. 

Every April, the Jam hosts our home season at ODC, which we have the privilege of producing ourselves. This means that we write press releases, promote the show via social media, design fliers and posters, organize a reception, and fundraise. This year, we will be sharing our passion for dance in our performance, From the Ground Up on April 19 and 20. If possible, a donation of any amount would mean so much to me, which would be added to a fund to afford lighting, videography, costumes, a beautiful reception, and more. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported my passion and commitment to this art.

With overwhelming appreciation,
Eve Axelrod

Eve Axelrod

Dance Jam Company Members

Please support this community of young dancers with a donation of any size to help produce their April 19-20, 2025 performances.

The generosity of our Jam community is so inspiring! We are raising our goal so that we can cover 100% of our production costs of our season performances.

ODC Dance

Under the leadership of School Director Kimi Okada and Dance Jam Associate Director Doug Gillespie, the ODC teen contemporary dance company performs work by the choreographers of the professional company, ODC/Dance, as well as renowned guest choreographers. Members of the Dance Jam are challenged with the creation of new works and the complexities of training in multiple dance techniques through a 5-day per week training schedule. With mentorship from ODC staff, the Dance Jam produces all aspects of their annual home season in ODC Theater, richly expanding their skill sets and understanding of work both on and offstage within a professional setting.

Please support this community of young dancers with a donation of any size to help produce their April 19 & 20th, 2025 performances, 

"You won't want to miss this evening of glorious dancing and bracing choreography performed by a dynamic talented team of youthful artists! Come experience the future of dance."  

- Brenda Way, ODC Founding Artistic Director

As part of their home season performances, the Dance Jam will perform a full program of works including a new work from former Dance Jam Associate Director Dexandro Montalvo, a new work by noted choreographer and dancer Babatunji Johnson, Jam repertory pieces 

There's So Much To Do To to Save the World

 by Kimi Okada from the ODC/Dance Company repertory. 