ODC Presents World Premiere Of Risa Jaroslow's AT YOUR SERVICE

ODC Theater is proud to present Risa Jaroslow & Dancers in the world premiere of AT YOUR SERVICE. A collaboration with vocalist and composer Amy X Neuburg, At Your Service shines a light on the undervalued among us asking, How do we serve one another? Performances run February 21 23, Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30, and may be purchased online at odc.dance/tickets or by phone at 415-863-9834.

At Your Service features dance, live music, songs and stories that promise to delight, edify, sometimes disturb and ultimately help us to see many of our fellow humans in a different light, said Jaroslow, who returns to ODC Theater in her third evening-length performance since moving to the Bay Area from New York in 2013.
Over a one-year development process, Amy and I and the core dancers in the piece have examined the economy of service that ties us all together. How do we serve or fail to do so personally and professionally? And how are we in turn served by others? said Jaroslow.

One of our inspirations was the One Fair Wage campaign which is doing powerful work to address inequities in pay, especially as these inequities are tied to gender in the food service industry.

In addition to five core dancers Emily Daly, Sydney Franz, Anna Greenberg, Kevin Lopez and Scott Marlowe At Your Service will comprise eight additional dancers and six people from a variety of professions, who will punctuate the movement and music with monologues about their experiences in the service sector. The monologists include a teacher from the Oakland Unified Public School District, a hospice nurse, a nurse midwife, a battalion chief in the San Francisco Fire Department, a fundraiser for social justice nonprofits and a former naval officer.

In part, we want to call attention to the work these professionals perform, added Jaroslow. We count on them. Their work is important, but it's also underpaid.

As artists, we're asking the same questions of ourselves. In rehearsal, how do we serve one another? In my experience, dancers are often given short shrift in the credit for the creation of new work. In performance, how do we serve the audience and vice versa? Is it mutual? And how can any of us serve something bigger than ourselves?
At Your Service received support from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, ODC Theater and many generous individuals. For more information, visit odc.dance/service.