ODYSSEY DANCE THEATRE was founded in June 1999 by Mr. Danny Tan, MFA (Artistic Director / Choreographer), to provide a new creative voice in dance.
A full-time professional contemporary dance theatre, ODT has been kept on the fast-track journey to excellence in contemporary dance exploration. The aptly named ODT has astounded local and international audiences on a number of accounts with its technical brilliance, creative use of supporting multimedia and a wonderful simplicity of images offset by complexity of narrative concepts.
January 2000 saw ODT in its debut performance –'ODYSSEY TO THE SUBLIME', at the Jubilee Hall (Raffles Hotel), Tainan City and County at Taiwan. With 19 mainhouse seasons, 2 contemporary dance festivals & 1 dancers/choreographers residency festival, the prolific dance company has a repertoire of more than 15 short works and 9 full-length repertoires, all vibrant and inspiring with access to both stillness and technical dynamics. To date, more than 33,000 people have attended the company's performances.
A strong advocate of local original dance works, the company has seen international invitations to perform Danny Tan's acclaimed Asian contemporary works at Taiwan , Hong Kong , Australia , ASEAN Festival of Arts 2003 and Asian Dance Choreographers Festival 2004 in Korea. Participating festivals in 2005 include 5 th Seoul International Crossover Improvisation Dance Festival , Pusan International Beach Dance Festival & HIGH FEST Armenian International Theatre Festival.
Through its series of acclaimed choreographic, development & performance platforms –'New Talent Presentation', ‘Wild Moves’, 'O’ Dance and the Young Artists Project Performers , ODT is dedicated to bringing Asia's brightest young professional dancers to contribute to the cultural health of Singapore.
ODT's ability-driven arts & dance education included the 4-year Artiste-In-School Programme (AISP) that was actively participated by more than 2,000 pupils annually. The birth of its Arts4yoUths division in 2003 witnessed continuity in the AISP, training & choreographic programmes for schools and the community. In 2005, the division is also extending short and long-term dance programmes to 6 schools (primary & secondary).
ODT introduced the first contemporary dance festival in Singapore ( XPOSITION 'O' CONTEMPORARY DANCE FIESTA ) which saw effective promotion of cultural exchanges between Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines since 2001. In 2004, this biennial event has alternated with the new DanzINC – International Dancers & Choreographers Residency Festival .
A company limited by guarantee with charity status, ODT's continued pursuit of artistic excellence has seen its strong alliances with artists and organisations from Austria, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, USA and UK.
Under the directorship of Danny Tan, strategic arts partnerships were also forged with local and international organizations such as the National Arts Council, Singapore Art Museum, Australian High Commission, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, ARTS FUND, Lee Foundation, OCBC Bank, Singapore Pools, Shell, Seagate and Shiang Series (Bel’Air Singapore) .
In 2004, Artistic Director Danny Tan is accorded the YOUNG ARTIST AWARD by the National Arts Council for artistic excellence in dance.
Information updated in August 2005 |
