Teen Dance Classes

With options for absolute beginners and aspiring professional dancers alike, the Teen Class curriculum offers a wide range of classes that span over the course of an academic year. Teens are immersed in the dance environment of ODC, where they learn to cultivate technical training as well as artistry.     

The ballet curriculum of ODC’s Youth & Teen Program prioritizes a healthy, body-positive, injury-free technique cultivated through alignment, strength, flexibility, and focus. Students are encouraged to develop a mastery of technique, informed by somatic awareness and enjoyment. Pointe technique is introduced to students as recommended by ballet faculty. 

 These physically-charged classes incorporate various street styles, including pop-locking, breaking, and freestyling. Students develop movement quality and musicality, while also exploring improvisation and group collaboration.  
*This class culminates in the May Showcase, May 4-5, 2024

This percussive dance form emphasizes musicality through keen listening and the embodiment of rhythm. Students explore coordination, precision of movement, weight shift, balance, and choreography, while also enjoying the physicality and exuberance embodied in this dance form. 
*These classes culminates in the May Showcase, May 4-5, 2024

Tuesday, 6:15-7:45 PM PT
Tuition | $820

Class will focus on creating movement and making dance pieces to be performed in May in a dedicated concert.  Students will participate in generating ideas for making movement,  and will solve movement tasks related to specific themes.  Teachers will mentor each individual student and guide the classes in creating overall structure and form in a supportive ensemble context.  A FUN class that values curiosity, imagination and exploration. This class is essential to ODC’s Youth & Teen Contemporary Class curricula. 
Tuition for Step Onstage C is included in Teen Contemporary II, III, and IV class prices. Please see the Performance Opportunities page for more information.

Seeds, ODC's Teen Hip Hop Dance Company 
By audition only, all levels welcome
Pre-Registration Required
Scholarships available!

Seeds Audition: Monday, September 25, 2023, 4:30-7:00PM at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell St, SF

Seeds Callback: Monday, September 27, 2023, 4:30-6:00PM at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell St, SF

Questions? Email registration@odc.dance

ODC and Embodiment Project are partnering together to relaunch SEEDS for the 2023-2024 academic school year. The program is structured as pre-professional teen hip hop/street dance company for SF Bay Area students that pairs movement, Liberatory Storytelling™, and restorative justice to help middle-high school youth express their story through their bodies, lift their voice, and learn vital skills to navigate conflict in community.

In this after-school program a cohort of 16 are guided by two co-directors, teaching specialists and EP and ODC mentors, to explore the origins and diverse stylistic variations of hip-hop alongside themes of social justice, racial and gender equity, and other relevant issues. Through workshops, class field trips and performance opportunities, as well as attendance at Bay Area street dance events, movement is leveraged as a vehicle to speak truth, provoke discussion and raise awareness of systemic injustice experienced first-hand by youth in our cities.

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Dance Jam, ODC’s Teen Contemporary Dance Company (Ages 13–18) 
In-Person Audition: August 29, 2023 / 4:00-6:00 PM 
Pre-registration required (Free) 

Under the leadership of School Director Kimi Okada and Dexandro Montalvo, the ODC teen contemporary dance company performs work by the choreographers of the professional company, ODC/Dance (Brenda Way, KT Nelson, and Kimi Okada), as well as renowned guest choreographers, including Dexandro Montalvo, Mia J. Chong, Amy Foley, Chuck Wilt, Katie Faulkner, Erika Chong Shuch, Robin Dekkers, and Crystaldawn Bell. Members of the Dance Jam are challenged with the creation of new works and the complexities of training in multiple dance techniques in a 5-day per week training schedule (see below). Throughout the year, students also engage in dance mentorship with other students in the Youth & Teen Program and are offered the unique experience of working with the ODC professional company  whenever possible. With guidance from ODC staff, the Dance Jam culminates in the production of an annual home season in Studio B, richly expanding their skill sets and understanding of work within a professional dance company. Please note, there will be additional rehearsals scheduled between the Fall and Spring Sessions (January 2-5, 2024). The Dance Jam will also perform in the December and May Showcases (December 10, 2023 and May 4-5, 2024) as well as the Step Onstage performances (May 10-12, 2024).

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