Brenda Way, Artistic Director, received her early training at The School of American Ballet and Ballet Arts in New York City.  She is the Founder and Artistic Director of ODC Dance and creator of the ODC Theater and ODC Dance Commons, a community performance venue and new training facility in San Francisco's Mission District. Way launched ODC and an inter-arts department at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in the late 60's before relocating to the Bay Area in 1976.  She has choreographed some 76 pieces over the last 35 years. Among her commissions are Unintended Consequences: A Meditation (2008) Equal Justice Society; Life is a House (2008) San Francisco Girls Chorus; On a Train Heading South (2005) CSU Monterey Bay; Remnants of Song (2002) Stanford Lively Arts; Scissors Paper Stone (1994) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Western Women (1993) Cal Performances, Rutgers University and Jacob’s Pillow; Ghosts of an Old Ceremony (1991)Walker Art Center and The Minnesota Orchestra; Krazy Kat (1990) San Francisco Ballet; This Point in Time (1987) Oakland Ballet; Tamina (1986) San Francisco Performances; and Invisible Cities (1985) for Stanford Lively Arts and the Robotics Research Laboratory. Way is a national spokesperson for dance, has published widely, and has received numerous awards and 30 years of support from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a 2000 recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and in 2009 was the first choreographer to be a Resident of the Arts at the American Academy in Rome. Way holds a PhD in aesthetics and is the mother of four children.

Kimi Okada is a founding member of ODC and, since 1996, she has served as director of the ODC School.  During her tenure, Ms. Okada has developed a world-class dance faculty and facilitated the school's partnership with the Rhythm and Motion Dance Center.  Ms. Okada is also the founder of the ODC/Dance Youth Program is the director of the teen dance company—the ODC Dance Jam, and is the Associate Choreographer of ODC/Dance. She has choreographed 25 works which include commissions and collaborations with Geoff Hoyle, Bill Irwin, Julie Taymor, and Robin Williams. She has choreographed theatrical productions for Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The American Music Theater Festival, The Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Music Center Opera, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, The Pickle Family Circus, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.  She was nominated for a Tony award for the Broadway production of Largely New York, which she co-choreographed with Bill Irwin. Ms. Okada was also the recipient of a Bay Area Critic's Circle Award for Best Choreography for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Ms. Okada has been the past recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowships, a panelist for the Endowment, the California Arts Council, and the Seattle Arts Commission, and was honored with a California State Legislature Assembly Resolution citing choreographic and community contributions.

KT Nelson, Co-Artistic Director, joined ODC in 1976 while attending Oberlin College. She danced with the company from 1976 to 1997. Since 1976, Nelson has choreographed more that 54 works as well as composing and commissioning numerous scores. Her work as choreographer, dancer, and educator has been widely recognized. In 1986, she choreographed and directed ODC’s first full-length family production, The Velveteen Rabbit, which has since been performed annually in the Bay Area as well as touring nationwide, reaching an audience of over 350,000. She has been awarded the Isadora Duncan award (San Francisco’s highest dance honor) three times: in 1987 for Outstanding Performance, in 1996 for Outstanding Choreography, and in 2001 for Sustained Achievement. She has received 10 Isadora Duncan nominations in all categories, including a triple nomination for her 1993 work, River. Nelson’s collaborators have included Bobby McFerrin, Geoff Hoyle, Kim Turos, Gina Leishman, Rinde Eckert, Marcelo Zarvos, Zap Mama and Linda Bouchard. She has been a guest choreographer for Mikko Nissinen when he danced with San Francisco Ballet, Diablo Ballet, Ballet Met and Maximum Dance. She founded ODC’s youth company, the ODC Dance Jam, and presently co-directs the Jam (ages 12-17) with ODC School Director Kimi Okada. As Director of ODC’s Educational Outreach Program, Nelson has done extensive community work including partnerships with: Kohler Arts Center, where she created the evening-length work Raising the Roof with ODC dancers, the local Carpenters Union and Kohler Arts Center; University of Florida at Gainesville where she choreographed a concert with deaf children, local youth and ODC; Everett Middle School, creating Rites of Passage along with the San Francisco Mine Troupe and San Francisco’s Writers Union; and Thunder Road Drug Rehabilitation. In 2002, Nelson received the California Dance Educators Association’s Artist Award for outstanding artistry, creativity, outreach, and dedication to the field of dance. She ran the dance department at Center for Creative Youth at Wesleyan University for 2003-2005. She is currently an Advisory Board member of Center for Creative Youth and Nexmap and sits on the Board of ODC.

Consuelo Faust is the founder and director of Rhythm and Motion Dance Program, a San Francisco institution since 1979. Trained in ballet and modern dance, Faust performed and choreographed throughout the '70s and '80s with a number of San Francisco companies, as well as with her own troupe, Consuelo Faust and Dancers. In the 1990's Rhythm and Motion expanded to become a comprehensive center for dance and a home base for master dance instructors from around the world. In 2006 Rhythm and Motion Dance Program launched a partnership with The ODC Dance Commons, a center for the arts in the Mission District that includes a school, a professional dance company, and a theater. Faust has always been fascinated with the intersection of popular culture and formal art. Her work is motivated by the idea that "anyone can dance” and her well-known dance-workout program brings the skills and choreography of trained dancers to classes for the general public. Her inspiration lies in the ongoing work of creating a fun, safe, and healthful environment for people of all walks of life to experience the joy of dance. She looks forward to collaborating with others through the Mayor’s Shape-Up SF program.

Rob Bailis has been Director of ODC Theater since 2003, where he has built a program that presents over 60 different regional, national, and international performing arts companies each year.  In 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle honored Bailis, naming him “MVP” in the field of dance presenting, describing his curation as, “…smart and sophisticated, his empathy for artists is instinctive and his enthusiasm is infectious.”  At ODC, his programming has played a critical role in linking emerging and mid-career artists with a broad public regionally and nationally.  Under his leadership, the Theater has received generous awards in recognition of both its acclaimed “ODC Presents” series, and its unduplicated service and artist Residency programs. Bailis has served as a performing arts juror and consultant for many organizations, including the Creative Capital Foundation, Western States Arts Federation, Chamber Music America, MAP Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, and the Rasmuson Foundation. 

Equally active as a classical clarinetist (lauded for his "sweet, singing tone...and technical wizardry..." -SF Classical Voice), Bailis has toured with orchestras and in chamber recitals across the U.S., Canada, Asia, and the U.K.   Since returning to the Bay Area, he was appointed to the Napa Valley Symphony, and performs regularly with numerous other ensembles throughout northern California. A proponent of contemporary music he has premiered many new works, including pieces by Luciano Berio, Martin Bresnick, and Jack Perla.  Recent touring highlights included clarinet recitals in Chicago, San Francisco, and London, where he premiered new works written for him by Takamitsu Prize winner, composer Arlene Sierra. 

As a playwright and lyricist, he was first produced in 1991 when his musical play The Culture Counter, premiered at the Around the Coyote Arts Festival in Chicago.  Since then, he has produced a widely performed body of work primarily in art song, song cycle, and libretto.  His newest piece, Love/Hate is in development at American Opera Projects in New York City.

Bailis holds degrees from Northwestern University and the Yale School of Music.  He is also a proud alumnus of the Royal Court Theatre in London, and Interlochen.

Lori Laqua, (Managing Director) joined ODC as a development assistant in 1991. During her tenure, she has helped to guide the organization’s growth from a budget of under $1MM to its present $5MM. She acts as chief operating officer for the organization and liaison to the ODC Board of Directors. Laqua was the project manager for ODC’s new Dance Commons building which opened in October 2005 and is managing the renovation of ODC’s flagship building, the ODC Theater, which is slated for completion in early 2010. Laqua holds graduate degrees in Art History and Architectural History from the University of Wisconsin, University of Missouri, and University of Virginia.