Annual 6-week Dance at the Odyssey expands to 2 stages in 9th year

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s beloved annual contemporary dance festival, Dance at the Odyssey, expands to two stages in its ninth year, offering double the cutting-edge performances across six thrilling weeks. Curated by series co-founder Barbara Müller-Wittmann, the festival showcases innovative works by over 17 Los Angeles-based choreographers, including numerous world premieres, dance films, and special workshops. Performances run concurrently in Odyssey 2 and Odyssey 3 at the Odyssey Theatre complex (2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, CA 90025), from January 8 through February 15, 2026.

Kicking off January 8–11, Odyssey 2 features choreographer Neaz Kohani blending dance, spoken word, and live music in SHE IS MY SISTER, exploring the persecution and resilience of female wisdom keepers and traditional healers. Also in Odyssey 2, the world premiere of GASP by choreographer Owen Scarlett invites audiences into lush meadows and melodic birdsong as two creatures embark on a journey of self-discovery and mutual understanding in a familiar yet unfamiliar world (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.).

In Odyssey 3 that same weekend, choreographer Teresa Toogie Barcelo and composer Joe Berry (of electronic band M83) return with the world premiere of SOUNDBODY, a hypnotic duet drawing on telepathy, psychoacoustics, and ritual to fuse movement, breath, and sound into an intuitive field of resonance (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.).

From January 15–18, Odyssey 2 presents the world premiere of Corrigan by choreographer Hunter Wayne Foster, inspired by Corriganville Park—a former movie ranch in Simi Valley—reimagining the unpolished, behind-the-scenes chaos of a classic Hollywood set. Also there, Camila Arana’s For Better or For Worse dissects love’s exquisite brutality: the ache of devotion, beauty in destruction, and tenderness that cuts both ways (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.).

Meanwhile in Odyssey 3, Los Angeles dancemaker and Lester Horton Award recipient Kevin Williamson presents two premieres: In blue, Williamson and pianist Hao Huang meditate on despair’s confines and nuances, with Williamson spiraling through characters as Huang performs haunting Ryuichi Sakamoto compositions. In beasts, a ferocious yet fearful trio (Divya Ahuja, Rian Alcid, and Sasha Marlan-Librett) cultivates a raw movement language (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.). On Sunday in Odyssey 3, the workshop Less Hot Air About Dance offers an uncurated “dance wrecking” for choreographers to share in-process work and receive constructive feedback. Presented by RGWW (Rosanna Gamson/World Wide), with support from Los Angeles County Arts & Culture and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, it’s limited to eight participants (first-come, first-served; $10 sign-up fee; 3–7 p.m.; not open to the public).

The festival continues January 22–25 with Dare to Dance in Public in Odyssey 2, presenting official festival selections and award-winning dance films exploring the profound intersection of movement, camera, and the human experience (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.). In Odyssey 3, TAQ Dance premieres the evening-length Cue, a funny yet unsettling meta-theatrical dance-theater piece choreographed and directed by Sasha Marlan-Librett (returning after performing in Kevin Williamson’s beasts). Four performers rehearse, repeat, forget, and question their lines and actions under the pressure of high standards and an unfolding script (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.).

January 30–February 1 brings RGWW (Rosanna Gamson/World Wide) to Odyssey 2 with the world premiere of Clever Ideas for Smaller Rooms, featuring intimate chamber works by Rosanna Gamson, Marissa Brown, Hanna Tzong-Han Wu, Gretchen Ackerman, and a duet by Chelsea Roquero and Ryan Ruiz (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.). In Odyssey 3, choreographer Marcella Lewis returns with the full world premiere of Spectacle of Ritual, after developing early versions at prior festivals (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 6 p.m.).

From February 6–8, Dancing Through Prison Walls, a California abolitionist project amplifying incarcerated voices through dance, presents FREEDOM TIME in Odyssey 2, performed by formerly incarcerated and “free world” community members: Mohamed Abo-Bargs, Suchi Branfman, Jay Carlon, Selina Ho, Kenji Igus, Brianna Mims, Amy Oden, Terry Sakamoto, and Tom Tsai (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.). Odyssey 3 features choreographer Marianna Varviani and Selcouth Dance Theatre premiering Default: Joy, an intensely physical dance-theater work co-created and performed by Simon Chernow, Tyler Law, and Maya Peterson, with original music by Yvonne Yifeng Yuan—drawing from Greek traditional dances, communal rituals, and personal gestures to channel collective energy into joyful movement (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.). That weekend in Odyssey 3, the two-day immersive vocal workshop Embodied Voice, The Voice of Release, led by Julianna Bloodgood in collaboration with Galiana&Nikolchev’s The Useless Room, uses somatic practices and technique to awaken authentic voices (advance sign-up required; limited to 15 participants, $200 fee; Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sunday 5–9 p.m.).

Closing the festival February 13–15, Intrepid Dance Project premieres Silent Fiction in Odyssey 2, a new work exploring old-time cinema devised and directed by Jennifer Jonassen with the company (Rachel Carlson-Zuniga, Nate DeLuca, Ari DeSano, Loreena Garcia, Doug Goldstein, Lise Hart, Juan D. Mendoza, Oneiros Villarreal-Burns) (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.). In Odyssey 3, Hannah Millar and Imprints premiere One World, featuring a special performance of Peter Chu’s Way In Over My Head – through visceral movement and raw storytelling, it asks what world you want to create, inviting audiences to awaken and co-imagine a better reality (Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.).

Don’t miss this expanded celebration of bold, boundary-pushing contemporary dance. Tickets are $25 each (plus a $3 fee for credit card purchases). Free parking is available on-site. For tickets and more information, visit odysseytheatre.com or call (310) 477-2055 ext. 2.

Marcella Lewis, Spectacle of Ritual. Photo by Sylvia Drav