ODC Dance kicks off its annual “Dancing Downtown” season this Thursday, giving three programs with two premieres each by artistic directors Brenda Way and KT Nelson. The company has a clutch of gorgeous new dancers right now, with four fresh women swelling the ranks. So when the Chronicle asked me to talk with married dancers Justin and Andrea Flores, I was happy to oblige:

“It’s quitting time at ODC Dance, which means the dancers are packing up the floor. The screech of peeling electric tape rings through ODC Theater. Two by two, the company members roll the rubbery top layer from the wood stage, lug the Marley onto platforms, and wheel it off with a Clydesdale’s uncomplaining efficiency. They shake out tired muscles, grab their sweats, trade jokes and go separate ways.

Except Andrea and Justin Flores, who head to a funky Mission District bar one block down 17th Street. Nirvana plays in the background as gin and tonics arrive at the table. They’ve been dancing together all day, but they can’t get enough of each other. “She was on tour with Lines Ballet for our first anniversary,” Justin says, raising his lush blue eyes toward the ceiling. “Now when we travel with ODC, it’s all day long we’re hanging out with each other.”

“It feels like vacation,” Andrea says with a happily tired smile.

Long rehearsals and no-frills bus rides: The Floreses have an unusual idea of the good life. But it’s one that fits well at ODC Dance, San Francisco’s contemporary troupe with a roll-up-the-sleeves collective spirit. Married for four years, Andrea and Justin are thrilled to work with dancers who know how to pull together as a company just as they’ve had to do as a couple. They’re part of a fresh infusion of talent into the group, and they’ll never be far from the stage when ODC opens its annual “Dancing Downtown” season at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Thursday.”

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