Odissi at ODC

These are complicated times. While most good Bay Areans beleaguer themselves with double doses of NPR to shore up their cultural sensitivity, perhaps we can suggest adding a little enjoyment to your global awareness diet? Something along the lines of dinner and a show? That’s right; check out that Middle Eastern or Bangladeshi restaurant you’ve been meaning to try, then make your way over to ODC’s "Local Heroes Dance Festival" for an eclectic evening of ethnic dance. Among the choreographers dubbed “new traditionalists” on this year’s program are Hearan Chung, a master of Korean court dance and a favorite among local critics, and Colette Eloi, whose Haitian-inspired innovations build on the legacy of Katherine Dunham. Also featured is a new work by Vishnu Tattva Das, an expert in the classical Indian Odissi tradition whose portrayal of Krishna allegedly once brought women swooning from the audience like so many preteen girls at a boy band concert. Not to dismiss the merits of the BBC, but how’s that for an inviting way to boost your cultural consciousness?
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: July 17. Continues through July 26, 2008