On a recent Sunday afternoon at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, a dancer named Jaime Garcia Castilla held a balloon. It was part of a recurring bit in “Caught in the Act,” the world premiere by guest choreographer Gypsy Snider, and it was underscored by a club track that made the whole thing feel like a memory of a party you hadn’t left yet. Snider later told me the balloon was meant to represent art reaching its audience. When it’s finally released to the crowd, she said, it’s because the message has landed.
I had a different thought: I thought about how fragile the whole thing was; How live performance is a house of cards, and at any moment, the balloon might pop. And of course one did during the performance.
I’d spent three days at ODC’s annual Dance Downtown season, and I went in as an unapologetic ballet snob. For the past few years, my idea of a night at the dance has been the War Memorial Opera House: the chandeliers, the hush, the collective intake of breath when a principal nails a variation. It’s a beautiful way to spend an evening. It is also, I have come to realize, a slightly narrow one.
Ballet for me is, in some ways, like watching Olympic ice skating. You’re watching people perform feats that shouldn’t be possible, and you’re sitting there half-wondering if someone is going to fall. Of course we worry about that in contemporary dance, but the intention is much less "look what I can do" and more about trying to get you to feel something.
Snider made me feel many things. As a critic, I giggled a bit when Rachel Furst said "you get up here and dance!" As an August baby, I felt seen when Ja'Moon Jones said, "I find it exhausting to be a Pisces surrounded by Leos." (We are exhausting, I'm sorry.)
Fine arts often have a "take your medicine" feeling to them. So it's notable this is the first performance in a long time I did not feel, "Oh gosh, when is this over?" At the same time, by the end of it I had been with ODC for three days and needed a nap I'm old.
The Friday night gayla
We do not always sit for dinner and have not yet for ODC. But at it, they raised a record-breaking $800,000 with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in attendance. In San Francisco she feels like a royal grandmother. Everyone needs to shake her hand and get photos with her. She must be so tired, lol; I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to meet her, and he said no, adding: "To be this close is enough."
At the performance, Pelosi gave an impassioned speech about healthcare, and ODC surprised the crowd by renaming its health initiatives the Nancy Pelosi Healthy Dancers Program. This all made sense to me, moments later, when I saw dancers rolling across the stage in "Investigating Grace," choreographed by Brenda Way. Give these dancers quality healthcare! I have a sore neck lately from literally doing nothing.
In my mind, the W Hotel brand has always been a genuinely chic operation. This is because my formative W experience was sitting on their rooftop bar in San Diego called “The Beach,” which had actual sand, while magazine editors tried to get us in bed. I was a twink and this was the mid-aughts. The W was aspirational in the same way that–sincerely–my well-worn Abercrombie shirt was cool back then.
So I always want parties at W downtown to give the most. Their second floor is a space with low ceilings and seated alcoves that had throw pillows bearing the ODC logo. A thirsty crowd kept busy bartenders serving batched lemon drops and what I believe was a Moscow Mule. There were pomme frites and a dancefloor with a vividly lit purple ceiling that made everyone look like extras in a Prince video.
At this point I've met many in the dance corps, party organizers, and choreographers, so I'll just say that second floor is not the venue this event deserves. But I still had a great time and enjoyed all the fashion.
Andrea Lin and Joel Goodrich brought some disco mirror realness I suspect I may see again for the Dress For Success gala in April. I remember when this style became big in the 2010s from stores like Etere shop, and on the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift. Locally, Mr. David Glamamore also rocks a mirrored jacket now and again.
Christopher James Dunn has a penchant for hand sequin work. This floor-length coat with split sleeves has a hand-pieced tartan sparkle, which is equally insane and incredible. Moreso of course that he said he made it for me. I mean not me to wear and keep, but because I had mentioned he is a designer and style icon of mine. Facts are facts!
I do not know Alicia Herlehy, but it feels like all the prominent SF gays do. I spotted her first at this year's SF Ballet after after party, then at ODC, and recently, she made an appearance in London for the Hunky Jesus documentary premiere with my old friend, D'Arcy Drollinger. Listen who wouldn't want to be friends with someone this fabulous?
For whatever reason, I did not have the guts to tell Ja'Moon Jones how phenomenal they looked in this simple silhouette. The low-cut back I only fantasize looking half as good on me, ever.
I know I besmirched the W a tad, but I actually did enjoy night two of our outing to the hotel. ODC hosted an LGBTQ-themed performance we sadly had to skip in order to attend the Fashion Community Week's 22nd season runway show at the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel. You pick your battles, and sometimes those battles involve couture — although this particular fashion show gave me sort of a Vivienne Westwood-meets-goth Chippendales experience?
In any case it was like $40 for a Waymo to take us 8 blocks. So instead I hoofed it through SoMa in 100 yards of tulle, sparkle overlay, and a corset.
I did not photograph ODC's afterparty on Saturday, but it was much more my style. The downstairs bar had more breathing room, and the crowd was very much like the hip downtown crew in their 20s to 40s you want to be seen with. It was communal, and there were lots of places to stop and chat. The whole thing had a young, loose energy that I wished I’d seen the night before. If Friday was the gala, Saturday was the party.
The truth is that I go to these things for the people. I always have. The art is what sneaks up on me while I'm busy having a good time, and honestly being kinda vapid. I love a good ballgown and acting fancy — even though I am incredibly middle class by SF standards.
I didn't go to ODC expecting to be moved by a balloon or a pair of stilettos. I didn't think jazz hands could feel radical in 2026. And I didn't know that, by the end of my weekend, I would have a breakthrough about what it meant to watch dance in a theater. But I have ODC to thank for that, and you should go watch them, too.
Learn more about ODC's 2026 program here.
Saul Sugarman is editor-in-chief and owner of The Bold Italic.
The Bold Italic is a not-for-profit media organization, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. We operate under a fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3).
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Occasional photos taken by Saul Sugarman. The majority of them are by the team at Drew Altizer Photography. The featured dance photos in this story I pulled from Natalia Roberts' Instagram.
April is coming
For whatever reason, the folks in SF high society (and the gays) like to punish me with the most ridiculous schedule ever in April. If you're looking for somewhere to wear your fancy prom dress or jumpsuit that's collecting dust next to your Patagonia vests, now is the perfect time to get it ready.
- Hunky Jesus is April 5th and I already wrote a preview.
- On April 9th, Red Curtain Addict is hosting their second annual Bay’s Stage Arts Soirée on Thursday, April 9 (three weeks from today!) at Local Edition.
- SF Ballet has—count them—two premieres. La Sylphide on April 10th and Mere Mortals comes back on April 24th!!! (Read my review.)
- April 16th is the de Young gala late night. (Their expensive AF dinner portion is already sold out.)
- SF Ballet's Young Patron's Circle is hosting their Spring soirée on April 17th at The Academy. (Can't find the ticket page but it's listed here.)
- April 18th is both Dress for Success gala and LGBT Center Soirée. (Of which we are actually a media sponsor, but I will be over at Dress For Success gala.)
- On April 29th is Art Bash at SF MOMA.
A quick note to the arts organizations who ravenously read my reviews
I recently discussed publicly my ownership of the brand and its need for income. I'm really fucking grateful to the subscribers who donated some $3,000 recently to pay our web hosting and domain registration fees. I realize I dress like the wife of a Venture Capitalist who is going to keep your lights on. But without more sponsorship deals like this recent one, The Bold Italic will again be in some sort of limbo in the not-too-distant future.
To the arts orgs: If you have a marketing budget, please consider the significant reach we have among a young, motivated audience that's hungry to experience more art. Consider that, when I come to your events, it is sort of as a bearded semi-toned unpaid drag queen in the fanciest dress I have made for your events.
I am not really one to talk about this sort of thing and it's making me very uncomfortable now. But I suspect many of the organizations out there don't really know this story or that of The Bold Italic's. If you're learning it now or deciding you'd like to get involved, I think now is a great time to make it official. Get in touch at saul@thebolditalic.com — or text me if you already have my number!
