2004 Awards

THE 18^th ANNUAL ISADORA DUNCAN AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES 2002-2003 SEASON WINNERS

“IZZIES” teams with Bay Area Celebrates National Dance Week, Voice of Dance, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for First Ever “Bay Area Dance Awards” Evening.

San Francisco ----The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee announced the “Izzie” awards winners for the 2002-2003 performance season, and the first year of a vibrant collaboration among Bay Area dance organizations.

The Izzies joined forces with Bay Area Celebrates National Dance Week and the website Voice of Dance for the first ever Bay Area Dance Awards evening, presented in association with the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.  The program brought together Bay Area Celebrates National Dance Week’s annual awards, a new Voice of Dance “Dance Critic of Merit” award, and the Izzies, in a shared production.  This inclusive celebration was held Monday, April 26, in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m. The event was free to the local community.

2004 marks the 18^th year that the Izzies Committee has recognized the excellence and diversity of Bay Area dance. Awards are bestowed in ten categories to Bay Area dancers, choreographers, and their collaborators and composers, as well as to others who contribute to the advancement of the dance community.

The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee seeks to honor local dance artists and promote their visibility, primarily by acknowledging outstanding achievements within a twelve-month period of performances, running September 1 through August 31. The “Izzie” awards, formed as part of Dance Bay Area in 1984 with honors first given in 1985, are designed to celebrate the unique richness, diversity and excellence of Bay Area dance.  In 1994, the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee reincorporated as a volunteer association under the auspices of the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum.  In 2002, it became a fiscally sponsored entity of Dancers Group.  Its members are choreographers, dancers, teachers, critics, writers, and arts administrators who serve one- or three-year terms.