ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE AWARDS (The Izzies) COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES NOMINEES AND HONOREES FOR 2021-22 PERFORMANCE SEASON.
San Francisco, California, July 2023 - The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee announces the “Izzie” nominees and honorees for the 2021-2022 performance season.
The following is a list of nominations and honorees by awards category with the Final Awardees highlighted in Bold Type.
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual
● Benjamin Freemantle, Summer (Storm Section), choreography by Robin Dekkers, virtual only - premiered in June 2022, filmed on the 2nd Street Garage rooftop in downtown San Francisco
● Erik K. Raymond Lee, Work in progress, choreography by Erik K. Raymond Lee, Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2022, Dance Mission, San Francisco
● Brooke Terry, Joy Protocol, choreography by Gregory Dawson, Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2022, Dance Mission, San Francisco
● Sawako Ogo, for an entire season performing in works by: Jesselito Bie, Christian Burns (ZiRu Dance Productions), Kristin Damrow & Company, David Herrera Performance Company, Natasha Adorlee, Joe Landini Dance, Alyssa Mitchel, A Pulso Dance (Andi Salazar), FACT/SF (Charles Slender-White), and Erin Yen
● Miche Wong, Vamanos, choreography by Dexandro Motalvo, ODC/Dance, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble
● Adji Cissoko and Michael Montgomery, Azoth, choreography by Alonzo King, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
● Babatunji Johnson, Lorris Eichinger, Shuaib Elhassan, Alvaro Montelongo, and Michael Montgomery, The Radius of Convergence (excerpt), choreography by Alonzo King, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
● Styles Alexander, Gerald Casel, Audrey Johnson, Karla Quintero and Cauveri Suresh, Not About Race Dance, choreography by Gerald Casel, Gerald Casel Dance, CounterPulse, San Francisco
● Megan Lowe and Johnny Huy Nguyễn, HOME(in)STEAD, choreography by Megan Lowe and Johnny Huy Nguyễn, at David Ireland House, 500 Capp Street, San Francisco
● Ashley Gayle, Lydia Clinton, Niara Hardister, Erik K. Raymond Lee, Kao Vey Sebastian Saephanh, Terrence Paschal and Patrick Secrease, Emma Ya: Expedition, direction and choreography by Raissa Simpson, PUSH Dance Company, outside in front of 447 Minna Street, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company
● Ballet22, Summer Season 2022 Juntos, Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco
● inkBoat, These Are the Ones We Fell Among, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Global Moves, Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
● ODC Dance Company, Dance Downtown Spring 2022 and Summer Sampler 2022, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Cinderella, Fox Theater, Redwood City
● Sean Dorsey Dance, 18th Annual Home Season, Z Space, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Direction or Choreography
● Gerald Casel, Not About Race Dance, Gerald Casel Dance, CounterPulse, San Francisco
● William Forsythe, Blake Works II, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
● Alonzo King, Deep River, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
● Dwight Rhoden, The Promised Land, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
● Amy Seiwert, No Alibi, ODC/Dance, Dance Downtown, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text
● Surabhi Bharadwaj and Veena Basavarajaiah (text) and Roopa Mahadevan (music), The Maze, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Studio 210 Residency, San Francisco
● Paul Dresher with Joel Davel (music), Michael Palmer with Rinde Eckert (text), Global Moves, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
● Jason Moran and Lisa Fischer (music), Lisa Fischer (vocals), Deep River, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
● Robert Moses (text), The Soft Solace of a Slightly Descended Lost Life (Suck It), Robert Moses’s KIN, Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design
● Wayne Campbell and Sean Riley (scenic design), David Freitag (master rigger) Love, A State of Grace, Zaccho Dance Theater, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
● Kristin Damrow (scenic design) MEDIUM, Kristin Damrow & Company, Firehouse at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco
● Larry Arrington and Alexa Burrell (film), WOW MOM, Larry Arrington, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Robert Perdziola and Caitlin Rain (costume design), Mark Stanley (lighting), The Seasons, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
● Jax Blaska, Robert McCole, Del Medoff, Maryam Rostami, Charles Slender-White (scenic design), Split, FACT/SF, CounterPulse, San Francisco
● Grisel “GG” Torres (lighting), TRY (Directors: Ishmael Houston-Jones, jose e. abad, Snowflake Calvert, Keith Hennessy, and Dr. Kevin O'Connor), Z Space, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction
● Kimi Okada, revival of Two If By Sea by Kimi Okada (2013), ODC/Dance, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Amy Seiwert and Amy London, revival of Dear Miss Cline by Amy Seiwert (2011), Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco
● Helgi Tomasson, revival of Bournonville’s La Sylphide (1836), San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Special Achievement Award Honorees
● SanSan Kwan, for her book Love Dances: Loss and Mourning in Intercultural Collaboration, an important contribution to dance scholarship with its premise that the practice and performance of dance serves as a revelatory site for working across culture.
● Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) and Oakland Ballet Company for their collaboration in creating the Dancing Moons Festival as a powerful way to champion Asian artists and combat anti-Asian violence and rhetoric.
Sustained Achievement Award Honorees
● Renee Renouf Hall for sustained achievement over sixty years of dance writing and dance criticism. In beginning her career as a dance correspondent in 1960 for Dancing Times and Dance News in New York City from 1962—1983, continuing as a dance and culture critic for Hokubei Mainichi in San Francisco from 1968—1983 and Asian Week in San Francisco from 1983—1995, and long-time contributor to the Dancing Times. She has provided invaluable service to the dance community and created a valuable historic record of dance performances in the San Francisco Bay Area.
● Carlos Moreno Samaniego, General Director of Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno, for his sustained leadership of the company since its founding in Livermore in 1967. His passion for researching, teaching, and performing the traditional dances of Mexico have made him a recognized expert in the field. Moreno has over many years opened a school and built the company's status, performing in major venues, for professional sports events, popular TV shows, educational and cultural events throughout the United States, and in Mexico.
● Helgi Tomasson for outstanding achievement as the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet from 1985 to 2022, a time which saw unprecedented artistic growth and sustained excellence of the Company. Under his leadership, San Francisco Ballet has transformed into one of the world’s leading ballet companies with regular touring appearances in the United States and internationally. Tomasson is recognized for championing new and contemporary choreography, supporting emerging choreographers and the next generation of dancers, and ensuring that classic works continue to be revived and reimagined with respect to the traditional art form.
History of the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards
The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, informally known as the Izzie Awards, are awarded annually to acknowledge exceptional achievements in the performance and presentation of dance. Awards are given in nine categories to honor the dancers, choreographers, designers, composers, dance companies, scholars and other individuals who have made important contributions to the Bay Area’s thriving dance community and to celebrate the excellence and diversity of dance in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
The wholly volunteer Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee was established in 1984 and bestowed its first awards in 1985. The Committee is made up of artists, teachers, dance writers, academics and arts administrators with diverse areas of expertise and a willingness to commit to viewing a broad range of work.
During each 12-month performance cycle, running September 1- August 31, the Committee collectively views hundreds of eligible performances each year. The final nominees are selected at an annual voting meeting held in September after the close of the viewing cycle.
Prior to the 2020 pandemic, dance films and videos of performances were not considered eligible for consideration. Since 2020, videotaped content has been considered eligible, provided the artists and the filming location are Bay Area-based.
Member profiles and lists of previous nominees and winners are available online at www.izzies-sf.org. The Izzies Committee is supported in part through grants, in-kind donations, and annual giving by individuals. For additional information, contact: izziespublicity@gmail.com
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