Director’s Note

Dear Odyssey Patron,

What a challenging year for all of us, and it’s hard to believe that we are now in our 26th season of Thriller! After one of the strangest years on record - ODT is back with a full season schedule.

When we first produced this show, we had sold only 50 tickets for four mere performances four days away from opening. In spite of COVID-19, we are still performing in Price, Park City, Ogden, Logan, Tuacahn and here at Kingsbury Hall. Although we do new pieces in the show every year, it is amazing how many of the original pieces we put together still remain the staples of the production.

Sadly, our 15th & 16th Consecutive European Tours were cancelled, but we are hopeful we can return in Spring 2021, and we won Best of State Dance Company for the 16th year in a row!

We are celebrating our 27th year and through those years we’ve created numerous full-length productions and really stretched our artistic muscle with multiple world-premiere works, all the while creating a whole new audience for dance. When I look at the photo below of the original Company, in some ways it feels like it was only yesterday but in other ways it feels like it was in a different century (which it was!!) We hardly dared hope that what started as just a group of dancers with a dream would still be around and thriving a quarter of a century later!

When the Mormon Tabernacle Choir cancelled their Christmas Concerts last year, I wanted to fill the void and give their audience another uplifting and inspirational performance to attend. I decided to do an encore presentation of It’s A Wonderful Life but that, too, was cancelled. I’ve scheduled it again this year, from December 17th to 23rd. Termed “Broadway Worthy” by the Salt Lake Tribune and based on the classic holiday film, this entertaining portrayal of the heartwarming story has the look of a Broadway show, but the story is told through dance and the use of voice-overs very much like the film and the many dance styles you’ve come to expect from the talented dancers of Odyssey Dance Theatre. Half-priced tickets are available with Thriller purchase.

Shut Up and Dance is scheduled at the new Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center in Taylorsville, February 28 to March 11, 2022. This dance lovers buffet, with something for everyone, will take Odyssey back to its roots with long-time audience favorites Sledgehammer and Let it Be and recent hits Chicago Nights and Romeo+Juliet. Go to www.odysseydance.com for more information.

Thank you for making it possible for us to get this far. It’s been quite a journey, and we invite you to continue on this incredible “odyssey” with us for many years to come.

Hope you and yours stay well!

Derryl

Original Odyssey Dance Theatre Company