RAWdance Performs DOUBLE EXPOSURE at ODC, 10/26-28

After their sold-out world premiere at ODC Theater last summer, RAWdance returns next month in an encore presentation of DOUBLE EXPOSURE, the company's critically acclaimed program of duets representing more than a dozen West Coast choreographers. Double Exposure runs October 26 - 28, Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 - $35, and may be purchased online at odc.dance/tickets or by phone at 415-863-9834.

RAWdance Co-Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein are the evening's sole performers in an event they've dubbed "the ultimate duet." Comprising commissioned works - each between two and four minutes in length - by Amy O'Neal, Amy Seiwert, Ann Carlson, casebolt and smith, David Roussève, Holly Johnston, Joe Goode, Kate Wallich, KT Nelson, Monique Jenkinson, Shinichi and Dana Iova-Koga, and Tahni Holt, Double Exposure is "an epic production...greater than the sum of its parts," wrote Claudia Bauer in a review for DanceTabs.

Smith and Rein "move together with a kind of effortlessly flowing intimacy," wrote Ann Murphy for the Bay Area News Group. "Think of George Burns and Gracie Allen or Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Like the humor of those duos, [Double Exposure's] wry, sexy and athletic movement pulls us into Rein and Smith's twinning relationship."

"Double Exposure is a definitive tour de force," wrote Heather Desaulniers for Critical Dance.

In addition to participating in the creation of each commissioned duet, Smith and Rein added one of their own to bring the total number to 13. In all, the program draws from a broad array of sources including ballet, butoh, dance theater and many more.

Musical selections in Double Exposure span the gamut from classical to lounge, from spoken and sung text to sampled dialogue from a 1970s-era French film. "In the interest of variety, we helped guide the process, but the final choices belonged to each choreographer," notEd Smith.

Similarly, Smith and Rein invited the choreographers to participate in the costume design for their duets. They also invited costume designer Kristen McCullough to create select looks and collaborate on a costume through-line for the evening.

Longtime RAWdance collaborators Sean Riley and Jim French served as scenic and lighting designer, respectively.

This presentation of RAWdance is made possible with generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

An award-winning contemporary dance company formed in 2004, RAWdance is known for transforming theaters and public spaces with intellectually and emotionally layered performances. Through the unique partnership of Co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, the company has earned a reputation for its visually striking, kinetically charged works that consistently push into exciting territory. SF Weekly dubbed the company's work "edgy, sexy inventive fare designed to speak to audiences." Critical Dance has described it as "experimental work done brilliantly." And the San Francisco Chronicle heralded the artistic directors' "genuine partnership, one of the more thrilling in Bay Area dance."

RAWdance has been supported through residencies at ODC Theater, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, CounterPULSE, Jon Sims Center, and the Ucross Foundation. In 2010 the company was awarded a Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) award. Smith and Rein have been guest artists at universities, high schools and teach workshops regularly. The company has performed in Singapore, China, Chicago, Providence, Washington DC, St. Louis, and New York, as well as venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2007 in an effort to inspire dialogue and engage the community, the company launched its biannual CONCEPT series, an informal and intimate salon of contemporary dance. To date, the series has presented works by 78 of the Bay Area's talented professional artists in a casual environment with coffee and popcorn. The CONCEPT series was named "Best Way to Sample S.F.'s Contemporary Dance Scene" by SF Weekly.

ODC Theater participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship and space access; it develops informed, engaged and committed audiences; and it advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the region's economic and cultural development. The Theater is the site of over 120 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 and currently under the direction of Julie Potter, 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 flare. 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. For more information about ODC Theater and all its programs visit www.odc.dance.? FACT SHEET WHAT:ODC Theater presents RAWdance in Double Exposure.

Directors & Dancers: Wendy Rein and Ryan T. SmithChoreographers: Amy O'Neal, Amy Seiwert, Ann Carlson, casebolt and smith, David Roussève, Holly Johnston, Joe Goode, Kate Wallich, KT Nelson, Monique Jenkinson, Shinichi and Dana Iova-Koga, and Tahni HoltLighting Design: Jim FrenchScenic Design: Sean RileyCostume Design: Kristen McCullough.

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