Bonner Odell's profile

I am small. It makes it easy to disappear into the background and observe the world. I like to write stuff down. Mostly I do this on the BART train, which I ride daily to and from San Francisco, where I work. Somehow that commute encapsulates all my favorite things about life (except the occasional smelly snoring man who always seems to choose the seat next to mine, probably because like I said, I'm small. It has its disadvantages.) So anyway about my favorite things, which you're undoubtedly dying to know or you wouldn't be reading this. Ephemeral blur of human faces reflected in the train window. Sunsets over the SF skyline. Reading. Writing. The Northern California landscape in motion, motion.

Motion is most definitely a favorite thing. I am a dancer and a choreographer. A few years back I completed a completely useless but for some reason necessary-for-my-life masters degree in dance. I make and perform in mostly small-scale dance-theater pieces that blend movement and text.

For my job I work as editor of a dance publication called In Dance, which is put out by an organization called Dancers' Group. I also write about dance, most recently previews for the SF Weekly. I feel very fortunate to be able to combine the two things I'm most passionate about- dance and writing. But I'll likely be moving on from this job soon... the non-profit world can be a whole lot of work for not enough pay, especially in this part of the country. Eventually I'd like to teach at the university level, though the idea of going back to school for a PhD and being a broke student-artist again makes me weary just to think about... Oh, Lord, wheres-to next?

What else. I'm married to a brown bean named Fred. He's real pretty and plays music. Really. Great. Music. And I don't even think I'm biased. Okay, maybe I am, but he still rocks. Check him out at myspace.com/fredodellmusic

Oh, and I guess the most important thing about me, which I probably shouldn't have saved for last, is that I'm totally Christ-haunted. Only it's not so spooky, since it's much better to be haunted by someone living than dead.

Making dances and performing them in obscure theaters in San Francisco back alleys to an audience of largely bribed friends
Contact improvisation jams
Reading (lots of time to do this on the train commute to work; currently The Piano Tuner, and sometimes The Watchtower- weird I know, but you forget your book and those cordial men are there in their suits and you learn random stuff about keeping healthy gums and the end of the world and stuff)
Writing stuff (articles, poetry that someday I'll excavate from my notebooks)
Camping and hiking in the California hills
Leviticus (just kidding, although I am actually really into the O.T. these days.)
Scratching my cat in that one spot that makes her do that repeated licking-at-nothing thing