Dear Odyssey Patron,
As we close our 31st season, I reflect on what brought us to this point.
Though promoting art and making art are both important to me, my main goal in founding Odyssey was to provide a place where Utah talent could pursue a dance career close to home. When I returned to Utah in 1994 to raise our family after performing on TV and touring Broadway shows, I saw that there was this huge pool of talented dancers who could do everything – ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballroom – and would be working regularly if they had decided to move to New York or L.A., but they didn't want to leave their home state. I thought it was a shame to see that talent go to waste, and Odyssey was born.
We have a great sense of satisfaction that we remained true to that objective, with three quarters of our 25 Company Members Utah born. I also wanted to provide innovative, entertaining and family friendly productions for our community and believe we continue to meet that goal.
We presented three complete seasons this year and sold season tickets for the second year in a row. The first time we performed Thriller 28 years ago, only 40 tickets were sold. Now a tradition, there were 38 performances in six locations.
We had the return of last year’s hit Christmas Spectacular, SPECTACULAR, starring David Osmond. What we did for Thriller and Halloween, we did for Christmas, and we have another hit on our hands.
Odyssey has provided live performance art access to thousands of at-risk youth in our community by donating 12,911 free tickets and delighting 9,707 with free school performances.
In March, we had our 16th European Tour where we performed six performances of Romeo+Juliet and Chicago Nights throughout Germany to standing ovations and numerous encores. We are proud to, once again, represent Utah on the world stage and bring attention to the state’s phenomenal support of the arts.
We performed those same pieces for our audiences at home, with six performances at The Grand Theatre, serving 42,361 patrons throughout the season. We had a pre-show social and silent auction, attended by 75 donors and friends, who mingled with the Company. We would love to have you join us next Spring!
We are proud to have produced original, innovative works and, to date, we have created over 60 original works, including seven full-length productions. We are famous for Thriller so, when Deseret News said, “Odyssey Dance Theatre’s Shut Up and Dance season only proves that it is a company to be taken seriously. Bravo!,” we knew we had proven Odyssey dancers can do it all!
Odyssey has carved a unique niche in the local, national and international dancescape and has, in fact, created a whole, new market for dance and has been selected Best of State Best Dance Company for 20 years. Our creative repertoire, versatility and multi-talented and spirited dancers give the Company a sustainable, competitive advantage.
Odyssey receives national and international acclaim on many fronts, while still providing quality artistic, family friendly entertainment for Utah. It has become an artistic treasure for the community as it continues to nurture and develop Utah dancers and giving hundreds of Utah’s dance students the opportunity to perform with a professional dance company.
What YOU can do
A one-time donation of just $25 would help us reinstate our Odyssey 2 Scholarship Pre-Professional Training Program for many future generations of aspiring dancers.
Or even better, consider giving monthly, and you will receive monthly links to amazing Odyssey Repertoire Videos: (Click here to donate monthly)
Thank you for considering, and if you have 5 minutes and $25 to support the future of Odyssey Dance Theatre and the dreams of so many young dancers, you can click below to make a donation.
Thank you, again, for all of your support, and for continuing the Odyssey with us!
Derryl Yeager
Odyssey Founder and Artistic Director
P.S. Be sure to check with your employer to see if they have a Corporate Match Program and to designate Odyssey as your charity when shopping with Goodshop, and they will donate a percentage of qualifying purchases to Odyssey.
If you would like to donate, please click the “donate today” button below.
Note: contributions to Odyssey Dance Theatre are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
