IF YOU CAN think of a pilot less as the operator of a moving vehicle and more as an explorer who helps navigate uncharted territory, you'll get the idea behind ODC Theater's Pilot. In a program for beginning choreographers – but not rank amateurs – artists not only put a piece together, they also learn how to present it to an audience. The mix of artists from one Pilot to the next doesn't really change all that much. They are all ambitious, hardworking, and, at the very least, promising. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made it into the program. Some of the current crop have danced with other companies in the area; others are newcomers. Some use live music, some commission scores, and some collage their own. For their choreography, the artists draw inspiration from musical theater, contact improv, Brazilian folklore, and hip-hop, in addition to every nuance of modern, postmodern, and – probably – post-postmodern dance. Pilot 46 artists are Aura Fischbeck, Rebecca Graham, Natalie Greene, Paco Gomes, Leigh Riley, and Sara Templeton. 8 p.m., 3153 17th St., SF. $12. (415) 863-9834, www.odctheater.org. (Rita Felciano)7