UCB vs. ODC

It's like a sinister cover-up. No one seems to want to talk about it. But the truth will out: Last year at "Toe to Toe," the dancers beat the athletes, badly, embarrassingly, and gracefully. The event is the brainchild of fearsome intellect and Mr. Moneybags Warren Hellman, and it pits the dancers of the ODC company against the football, basketball, cheerleading, track, and volleyball teams from UC Berkeley. In the 2007 match-up, the two groups squared off in contests of strength, agility, and chutzpah. They climbed rope ladders and recited poetry at the top, they stood on one leg and donned ridiculous costumes, an obstacle course involving BMX bikes was navigated, and there may have been a plain old footrace. We loved the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots duel and the performances at the end, Dancing with the Stars–style pieces during which tiny puffballs of dancers climbed around on loping b-ballers like squirrels on trees. At "Toe to Toe: The Rematch," the jocks might be forgiven for trying to hush up last year's results — after all, they were better funded, better -appreciated, and there were more of them, and yet the artists trounced them, hilariously. Cute food, Gatortinis (Gross! Get me another one), and celebrity judges (Ronnie Lott is not only talented and beautiful but funny, too) — these garnishes are fabulous but not as good as the games themselves. We don't usually recommend spending this much cash on a single event, but this one is worth it; it's also a benefit for ODC and the Cal teams. Go dancers! Beat Cal!
Tue., Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m., 2008