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The Company

Our background and journey

Mission Statement

Odyssey Dance Theatre’s mission is to provide quality entertainment and artistic excellence in theatrical dance as a professional dance company; to provide employment for Utah’s talented dancers; to exercise and maintain fiscal responsibility and be debt free; and to make theatrical dance more accessible to a wide audience by utilizing current social themes and music, as well as creating and re-creating classical and full-length works that are exciting to all demographics.

Historical

Reflecting ballet’s ancient roots and history.

Aesthetic

Reflecting dance’s evolution into one of the most refined, energetic, and entertaining art forms.

Contemporary

Commitment to performing works by the world’s best and most innovative choreographers.

Popular

Reflecting its commitment to making dance more accessible to a wide audience.

Odyssey History

Founded in 1994 and directed by Derryl Yeager, former Ballet West Principal, Broadway, Television, and Film veteran, Odyssey Dance Theatre explodes with world-class bravado, passionate charm, and choreographic invention, combining the classical virtues of ballet with the attack of jazz; the freedom of modern dance; the raw energy of hip-hop; the syncopated rhythms of tap; the fluid partnering of ballroom; and the spirit of Broadway and Vaudeville to create a fresh dance vocabulary and entertainment genre that engages audiences across the country and around the world. The use of contemporary, popular music, along with classical, makes it exceptionally appealing to a broad based demographic.

Odyssey employs 24 dancers, more than half of whom are Utah born. The company gives these highly proficient dancers a chance to make their home here (when they could dance anywhere they choose) and to still realize their dreams of dancing with one of the pre-eminent dance companies in the field. Odyssey Dance Theatre dancers are equally proficient in every style of dance, including ballet; tap; jazz; modern; Irish; ballroom; and funk/hip-hop. Odyssey’s creative repertoire, versatility and multi-talented and spirited dancers give the company a sustainable, competitive advantage. The company has carved a unique niche in the local, national and international dancescape and has, in fact, created a whole, new market for dance.

You may ask what we’ve done over the past 30 years…

  • Employing hundreds of Utah’s talented dancers
  • Nurturing emerging artists through the Company’s Odyssey 2 Pre-Professional Scholarship Program
  • Giving hundreds of dance students the opportunity to perform with a professional company in Thriller, ReduxNut-Cracker and It’s a Wonderful Life
  • Winning Best of State Best Dance Company 18 times and Best of All Arts & Entertainment, not once, but twice
  • Making Utah a better place to live and attracting businesses to the State
  • Providing live performance art access to thousands of at risk youth in our community, by donating free tickets and delighting them with free school performances
  • Producing over 60 original, innovative works, including seven full-length productions and thereby creating a unique niche in the local, national and international dancescape and a whole, new market for dance
  • Touring Europe 15 times to standing room only and standing ovations and receiving the Best Show of the Year and Season Award in Unterfoehring, Germany
  • Garnering world wide recognition when 9 Odyssey dancers made it to the top 10 of Hit TV Show So You Think You Can Dance
  • Earning 80% of its revenue from ticket sales