FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Hill
john@johnhillpr.com
510.435.7128
ODC/DANCE WELCOMES ITS NEWEST COMPANY
MEMBER JENNA MARIE GRAVES
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 20, 2022 – ODC/Dance is delighted to announce the newest addition to
its world-class company, Jenna Marie Graves. Graves joins the eleven-member ODC/Dance following
the recent departure of Mia J. Chong.
"As we welcome the remarkably talented Jenna Marie Graves, we also say farewell to one of ODC’s
deeply inspiring dancers, Mia J. Chong, who has been in the ODC family since she was six years old and
was the first school student to join the company," said ODC Founder and Artistic Director Brenda Way.
“In her first weeks, Jenna brings to rehearsal the courage, spirit, capacity and drive that promises to
make a substantial contribution to the stage and the work of the company.”
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Graves began her dance training at Olga Kresin's Ballet
School, and later attended The Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Later, as a
scholarship student at The Ailey School, she became a member of Ailey II.
Graves has been a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, MOMIX,
The Metropolitan Opera and Ballet Hispanico. As a guest artist, she has participated in Amy Seiwert’s
Imagery SKETCH Series, The Black Iris Project, Mark Foehringer Dance Project and San Jose Dance
Theatre. Graves has also performed for musical greats including Beyoncé, Romeo Santos and Nile
Rodgers and legendary fashion designer Betsey Johnson.
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2019, she has danced with Garrett + Moulton Productions, Post:Ballet
and Robert Moses’ Kin, among others. Audiences will have their first opportunity to see Graves perform
with ODC/Dance during its annual production of The Velveteen Rabbit, November 26 - December 11, at
the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA.
ABOUT ODC
Founded in 1971 by Artistic Director Brenda Way, ODC is a groundbreaking contemporary arts
institution: a world-class dance company (ODC/Dance), a theater with year-round presenting and
mentorship programs (ODC Theater), a training school for dancers and movers of all levels (ODC School),
and a fee-free, educational Healthy Dancers’ Clinic. Known nationally for its entrepreneurial savvy and
artistic innovation, ODC is unique for its holistic vision, now including a robust digital platform. With its
home in San Francisco’s Mission District, ODC makes a dynamic contribution to the Bay Area’s vibrant
dance and arts ecosystem, cultivating artists, inspiring audiences, engaging the community, and
fostering diversity and inclusion through dance performance, training and mentorship.