Release Date: May 16, 2025
For immediate release Dance/Theater
The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards
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ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES AWARDEES FOR 2023-2024 PERFORMANCE SEASON
San Francisco, California, May 16, 2025 - The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee announces the “Izzie” awardees for the 2023-2024 performance season.
The following is a list of nominations by awards category with the Final awardees in bold. Awardees were announced at a celebration event on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco. CELEBRATION OF BAY AREA DANCE brought together Izzies nominees, honorees, and awardees their peers and the community.
Please note that in the categories of Individual Performance, there is more than one awardee listed indicating that there was a virtual tie during the voting meeting. Accordingly, multiple Izzies for Outstanding Achievement were awarded in these two categories for this performance year.
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual
Babatunji, Welcome Table from Spring, Artistic Director/Choreographer Alonzo King, YBCA Blue Shield Theater, San Francisco
Maurya Kerr, Sisters, Artistic Director / Choreographer Randee Paufve, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Mizuho Sato, Crescent Occupation, Dance Mission, San Francisco
Nikisha Fogo, Swan Lake, Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
SeQuoiia, Hippest Trip-The Soul Train Musical, Choreographer Camille A. Brown, Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco
Wei Wang, 2023-2024 Season, Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
William Brewton Fowler Jr., The People's Palace, Artistic Director/Choreographer Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre, SF City Hall, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble
Babatunji Johnson & Charmaine Butcher, James Graham's Dance Lovers, choreography by Babatunji Johnson & Charmaine Butcher, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco; CONCEPT 31, RAWdance, choreography by Babatunji Johnson & Charmaine Butcher, The Green Room - SF War Memorial, San Francisco
Brandon Graham & Kyle Limin, Loving Still, choreographed by Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, 836M Gallery, San Francisco
Clarissa Rivera Dyas and ainsley elizabeth tharp, forever failing, KH Fresh Festival, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
Corps de Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Swan Lake, Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Megan Lowe & Roel Seeber, in A Quiet Space to Dance With a vertical dance duet as part of Megan Lowe Dances presents Just a Shadow, choreography by Megan Lowe & Roel Seeber, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company
Academy of Hawaiian Arts - Wahine, He inoa ahi no Kalākaua, Director Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu, The Academy of Alameda, Alameda
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, "la Aline Sitoe Diatta", "Fulani/Bao", and "Doundounba", Choreographer Ibrahima Diouf, Director Naomi Gedo Diouf, Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center-Laney College, Oakland
ODC/Dance Company, Dance Downtown 2024, Artistic Director Brenda Way, Blue Shield Theater of CA at YBCA, San Francisco
San Francisco Ballet, Swan Lake - Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa & Lev Ivanov; Song of the Earth - Kenneth MacMillan; Broken Wings - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
SFDanceworks, The Broken Glass, Choreographer Bryan Arias, Artistic Director Dana Genshaft, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Smuin Contemporary Ballet, 2023 - 2024 Season, Artistic Director Celia Fushille, Associate Artistic Director Amy Seiwert
Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text
Carola Zertuche - Artistic Director / Choreographer / Original Idea / Flamenco Dancer, Juani de la Isla – Music Director / Composer / Flamenco Guitar, Pascual Martinez - Composer / Electronic Music, Diego Amador Jr. - Flamenco Singer / Drums, Mario Silva - Trumpet, Roberto Aguilar – Electric Guitar, Adrian Santana - Guest Flamenco Dancer, Nol Simonse - Guest Modern Dancer/Choreographer, Claudia Deveze & Lea Kobeli - Flamenco Dancers, Un Mundo Sin Tiempo 2024, Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Chinary Ung - Composer, Paul Dresher - Music Direction & Musician, Joel Davel, Susan Ung and Vân-Ánh Võ - Musicians, The Rebirth of Apsara, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Z Space’s Steindler Stage, San Francisco
Guy De Chalus - Musical Director / Composer / Arranger, Adia Tamar Whitaker - Choreographer / Artistic Director / Composer, Tossie Long - Lead Vocalist, Tilishia Goveia - Lead Vocalist, Miles Lassi - Supporting Musician / Sound Editing, Following the Road to Ose Tura, Àṣẹ Dance Theater, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
Joel St. Julien - Composer/Musician, Loving Still, RAWdance, 836M Gallery, San Francisco
Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points - Composer / Musician / Producer, Mere Mortals, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design
Abou Gangue of Baba Haby's Fashion Production - Costume Design / Costume Construction, Adia Tamar Whitaker - Costume Design / Costume Visioning, Following the Road to Ose Tura, Àṣẹ Dance Theater, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
Jack Beuttler - Lighting designer, Jo Kreiter - Artistic Director & Choreographer, If I Give You My Sorrows, Flyaway Productions, Space 124, San Francisco
Maria Guzman Capron - Scenic Curtain Design, Tamara Rojo - Artistic Director, Dos Mujeres, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Mark Johns - 3D Design, Natasha Adorlee - Choreographer, Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon, Concept o4 and Amy Seiwert's Imagery, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
Mary Domenico - Costume Designer, Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein - Choreographer / Director, Loving Still, RAWdance, 836M Gallery, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction
Joanna Haigood, reconstruction of Dying While Black and Brown (2011), Zaccho Dance Theater, for SFBATCO’s New Roots Festival - Brava Theater, San Francisco
KT Nelson and Mia J. Chong, revival of Dead Reckoning (2015), ODC Dance, Blue Shield Theater of CA at YBCA, San Francisco
RAWdance, revival of Requiem (2017), Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, San Francisco
San Francisco Ballet, restaging of Song of the Earth, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Smuin Ballet, revival of Zorro, Blue Shield Theater of CA at YBCA, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Choreography or Direction
Amy Foley, Aurora Sad Magic, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Tupelo Tornado, for Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Blue Shield Theater of CA at YBCA, San Francisco
Brenda Way, A Brief History of Up and Down, ODC, Blue Shield Theater of CA at YBCA, San Francisco
David Harvey and Babatunji, Chimera, ODC Theater, San Francisco
The Straw Dogs: Manuelito Biag, Kara Davis, Tristan Ching Hartmann, Nol Simonse, and Victor Talledos; Guest Choreographer: Mary Carbonara, The Stories of the People Next to Us, Shack 15, San Francisco
Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Production Honoree
Parya Saberi and Suhaila Salimpour, recognized for the outstanding production of Dancing with Hafez, an immersive multi-layered contemporary Iranian art performance created to honor and represent the anti-patriarchal revolution in Iran and all of the brave women and men who have fought and continue to fight for the Woman Life Freedom movement, Dance Mission, San Francisco.
The People's Palace, a site-specific installation performance featuring aerial dance, video mapping of the architecture, a live jazz band, and a community choir/performance ensemble in San Francisco City Hall’s grand rotunda, is recognized as a 2024 Outstanding Production. Conceived & directed by Joanna Haigood in collaboration with composer Marcus Shelby, visual artist Mildred Howard, scenic designer Sean Riley, rigging designer David Freitag, light designer Krissy Kenny, projection designer Aron Altmark, costume designer Dana Kawano, The SKywatchers Ensemble, the Marcus Shelby Quartet and performing artists Veronica Blair, Tristan Ching Hartmann, Ciarra D’Onofrio, William Brewton Fowler Jr., Jocelyn Reyes, Nina Sawant, and Saharla Vetsch with free performances inviting all people to make the seat of government a place of their own.
OYSTERKNIFE (Chibueze Crouch-Anyarogbu and Gabriele Christian) for the Outstanding Production mouf//full. A live performance from the Black queer community for African-American History Month. The series blended song, dance and visual design in a three-day performance event at Grace Cathedral that honored Black faith across diaspora, secular and institutional, indigenous and inherited. This immersive, participatory performance explored how Black cultures have transformed Church into a uniquely syncretic cultural space.
Special Achievement Award Honorees
Misty Copeland and Leyla Fayyaz of Life in Motion Productions, director Lauren Finerman, choreographers Alonzo King, and Rich + Tone Talauega, performers Copeland and Babatuni, and composer and music supervisor Raphael Saadiq are recognized for their outstanding work on the dance film FLOWER. Set in Oakland, California, the film was created with artists from the Bay Area community including local dancers and shone a light on intergenerational equity, caretaking and the housing crisis in the Bay Area.
Inna Bayer for outstanding achievement as a dance educator and mentor, whose commitment to nurturing the next generation of ballet dancers in the Bay Area has garnered, for her proteges, significant recognition in top national and international competitions. Bayer is recognized for her ongoing commitment to uphold the highest standards of ballet, preserving the traditions of Vaganova method teaching and for her contributions towards the preservation of Marius Petipa’s works through choreographic collaborations to restage Petipa’s masterpieces for Bayer Ballet Company; as well as her work serving on the Board of the Petipa Heritage Foundation ~ the producer of the Petipa Awards Gala, which brought world ballet stars to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sustained Achievement Honorees
RAWdance, led by co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, for twenty years of producing innovative and artistically excellent dance, including more than 30 iterations of their signature pay-what-you-can CONCEPT Series salons in which they have presented the work of more than 150 Bay Area dance makers. Skilled at creating engaging dances for both theatrical settings and public spaces, RAWdance continues to demonstrate their commitment to creating adventurous, thoughtful, and welcoming programming that challenges what contemporary dance is, where it happens, who it includes, and the role it plays in our lives.
Internationally acclaimed, Bay Area based, tap dancer legend Sam Weber for his outstanding work, and amazing longevity, as a performing artist, master teacher, and choreographer whose virtuosic dancing, versatility, and ongoing commitment to passing on the legacy of the tap legends with whom he studied and continues to perform to his students and admirers not only in the Bay Area but across the globe.
World-renowned ballet dancer Yuan Yuan Tan, on the occasion of her retirement from San Francisco Ballet after a 29 year career, including 27 as a principal dancer is recognized for her outstanding artistry. During her long and celebrated career, Tan has exemplified her devotion to dance and a passion to create art that is elegant, human, and astonishing in ballets ranging from classical and neoclassical to contemporary. Tan brings a unique flare to each role leaving audiences breathless. As an international ambassador of ballet, she is a role model for, and a symbol of ballet across the world.