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heompany
SODC History: A Decade of Dance
In 1997, Sandra Organ ended her 15-year career with Houston Ballet to found the Sandra Organ Dance Company
and realize a dream. Her mission was to promote contemporary dance, educate the public, and attract a diverse
audience. Now celebrating its 10th Anniversary, Sandra Organ Dance Company (SODC) choreographs and performs
works that tell the stories of past and present. SODC themes have explored the complexity of race relations in American
history, the tragedy and redemption of organ donation, the contributions of African Americans, and the lives of
historical figures. SODC has added movement to Duke Ellington, Dmitri Shostakovich, Bobby McFerrin, U2, Maya
Angelou, Pablo Neruda, and many others. Blending the vocabulary of dance with music and the spoken word is a
hallmark, as is the incorporation of community voices, ideas, and experiences.
Two significant season events for the company are presentations of Amahl and the Night Visitors and performances for
Black History Month. Amahl incorporates sign language into the dance performance to tell an uplifting and unique
Christmas tale, which has quickly become a Houston holiday tradition. Black History Month performances are
integral to SODC’s season and its mission, and most recently the company presented a retrospective, in conjunction
with its 10th Anniversary that included works based on the contributions of George Washington Carver, Sojourner
Truth’s tribute to the black regiments of the Civil War, the poetry of Lucille Clinton and Maya Angelou, the music of
Louis Armstrong, and a work in progress based on Frederick Douglass.
SODC has drawn on over 80 professional dancers and 10 choreographers to create over 80 new ballets. The company
has presented over 110 dance concerts to more than 35,000 people of which over 7,500 are children from ages 10 to
19. SODC has collaborated with over 25 arts, education, and service organizations, including The Living Bank and the
Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, to develop and deliver performances to the broad and diverse community. With
Writers in the Schools, Houston PREP, and After School Initiatives, SODC has hosted choreographic workshops to
empower youth to explore their homework topics through expressive movements. Community collaboration is vital to
SODC’s success, and all SODC performances include an audience participation component, a “Talk Back” of dialogue
between the company and the audience, and a survey.
SODC receives funding from numerous sources, including Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission for the Arts,
Houston Endowment, the Scurlock Foundation, the Mithoff Family Foundation, and the Cullen Trust for the
Performing Arts, corporations, and individuals.
Sandra Organ, now Organ Solis, is a former soloist with the Houston Ballet and was its first African-American female
ballerina. Her international career with the Houston Ballet encompassed a diverse range of classical and contemporary
roles in works from choreographers Ben Stevenson, Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, and Sir Kenneth MacMillian
to Christopher Bruce, James Kudelka, and Paul Taylor. She is on the faculty of Houston Ballet Academy, Houston
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and the St. John’s School, and she is the founder and artistic director
of SODC.
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EARTHEN VESSELS/SANDRA ORGAN DANCE COMPANY
Executive Board
Maria Glymph, President (Organizational Development & Communications Consultant)
Polly Turner, Vice President (Pharmacist, TSU)
Sandi Watkins, Vice President (Grandmother)
Shirley Brown, Treasurer (Accountant)
Annette Mullins, Secretary (Attorney)
Sheila Johnstone (Expert Witness Scientist)
Marsha Penn (Attorney)
Arva Howard (City of Houston, Attorney)
Nicole Montgomery (City of Houston, Asst. City Attorney)
T. Deon Warner (Corporate Attorney)
Ashly Horace (Dance Educator)
Advisory Board
Annette Bracey (Entrepreneur)
Gretchen Gardener (Land Man)
Bernadine Schwing (Exxon Mobil Facilities Manager)
Barbara Seymour (Tax Attorney)
Maxine Silberstein (Jewish Community Center Dance Coordinator)
Patricia Williams (Pharmacist)
Carlos Solis (Rice University, IT Manager)
Westley Edmondson (Artistic Director, Interactive Theatre)
Mazella Boulden (Retired Environmental Coordinator)
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- Since 1997, Sandra Organ Dance Company has held over 110 performances for more than 35,000 people.
- Over 7500 kids from ages 10 to 19 have come to our shows, free of charge.
- Sandra Organ Dance Company dance themes have addressed …
… the complexity of race relations in American History
… the tragedy and redemption of organ donation
… artistic contributions of African Americans
… dance tributes to Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong
… poetry in motion, from Maya Angelou to Pablo Neruda, haiku and sonnets
… Historical figures from Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver to Martin Luther King, Jr.
- More than 85% of our shows were free!
- SODC Performances have been held in such diverse locations as the Wortham Theater Center, Heinen Theater, Jewish Community Center, U. of H. Cullen Theater and Moores Opera House, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, outdoors at Allen Parkway, The Menil Collection grounds/exhibit spaces, Buffalo Bayou Artpark, schools and community colleges, and warehouse loft spaces.
- The range of more than 80 dance works commissioned by THE COMPANY covers modern, jazz, tango, hip-hop, and neo-classical ballet styles.
- SODC has featured 10 guest choreographers and over 80 dancers from Houston, around the country and across the globe.
- SODC’s pieces have explored the works of composers ranging from Dmitri Shostakovich to Bobby McFerrin, Stevie Wonder to U2, George Winston and PINK.
- Sandra Organ Dance Company has collaborated with over 25 arts, education, and service organizations locally to develop performances that touch as many lives as possible - organizations such as:
- Writers in the Schools
- FLY Dance Company
- Buffalo Bayou Art Park
- Dance Ad Deum
- Houston Repertoire Ballet
- Girl Scouts
- Pink Ribbons Project
- The Living Bank
- LINKS
- High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
- Fotofest
- Area churches
- AURA
- The Contemporary Ensemble of the U. of H. Moores School of Music
- Houston PREP
- The Menil Collection
- The Boys and Girls Clubs of Houston
- Fifth Ward Enrichment Program
…to name a few.
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