The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, known locally as the Izzies, are awarded annually to acknowledge creative achievements in the performance and presentation of dance. This year the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee will celebrate 34 years of honoring local dance artists.
Awards are given in nine categories to honor the dancers, choreographers, designers, composers, dance companies, dance scholars and individuals who have made important contributions to the San Francisco Bay Area’s thriving dance community.
The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony to be held in the spring of 2020. This event will be free and open to the public. The following is a list of Nominees and Honorees by awards category.
Outstanding Achievement in Choreography
- Katie Faulkner, in collaboration with the dancers, Divining, little seismic dance company, ODC Theater, San Francisco
- Janice Garrett, Gojubi, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, San Francisco
- Hope Mohr, in collaboration with the performers, Leaving the Atocha Station, Southern Exposure, San Francisco
- Amy Seiwert, Renaissance, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual
- Zackary Forcum, femme’s refusal, choreography by Zackary Forcum, OOMPH Dance Theater, San Francisco International Arts Festival, Fort Mason Chapel, San Francisco
- Chinchin Hsu, Divining, choreography by Katie Faulkner, in collaboration with the dancers, little seismic dance company, ODC Theater, San Francisco
- Kimberly Marie Olivier, The Fifth Season, choreography by Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
- Allie Papazian, Another Time, choreography by Mark Foehringer, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Cowell Theater, San Francisco
- Frankie Peterson, Champions and Lovers, choreography by Gregory Dawson, Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2019, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
- Kavita Thirumalai, Anandam, choreography by Kavita Thirumalai, Cubberly Theater, Palo Alto
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble
- Tessa Barbour, Ian Buchanan, Maggie Carey, Mengjun Chen, Jonah Corrall, Valerie Harmon, Nicole Haskins, Peter Kurta, Tess Lane, Ben Needham-Wood, Terez Dean Orr, Lauren Pschirrer, Max van der Sterre, and Erin Yarbrough-Powell, Renaissance (cast of May 24, 2019), choreography by Amy Seiwert, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Mountain View Center for the Arts, Mountain View
- Dores André, Ulrik Birkkjaer, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Sasha De Sola, Benjamin Freemantle, and Elizabeth Powell, Appassionata (cast of February 12, 2019), choreography by Benjamin Millepied, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
- Julia Daniel and Collette Kollewe, duet from small variations, choreography by Cid Pearlman, Cid Pearlman Performance, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
- Garrett + Moulton Productions’ Movement Choir Dancers: Ashleigh Adamec, Allegra Bautista, Suzanne Beahrs, Jessica Bozzo, Charlotte Carmichael, Jessica DeFranco, Caitlin Hicks, Anna Krumpos, Nicole Maimon, Alyssa Mitchel, Chelsea Mosley, Christia Nguyen, Thea Patterson, Hannah Pierce, Jocelyn Satterberg, Clare Schweitzer, Nicholas Stettenbenz, and Oona Wong-Danders, Stabat Mater and Mad Brass, choreography by Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, San Francisco
- Megan Lowe with Sonsherée Giles and Shira Yaziv, Action Potential, choreography by Megan Lowe, in collaboration with the performers, Megan Lowe Dances, Athletic Playground, Emeryville
- Lydia Clinton, Marlene Garcia, Emily Hansel, Kyle Limin, Alexa Manalansan, Macio Payomo, Nell Suttles, Brianna Torres, Oona Wong-Danders, and Liselle Yap, Impact, direction and choreography by Kristin Damrow, Kristin Damrow & Company, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company
- Afro Urban Society + Bearettes, Connecting the Concrete to the Dust, choreography by Saabirah Faatimah, Nkeiruka Oruche, Tossie Long, and Kanukai Chigamba, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley
- Arletta Anderson, Eric Garcia, Cookie Harrist, Hien Huynh, Phoenicia Pettyjohn, Karla Quintero, and Galicia Stack Lozano, Of Iron and Diamonds V3: Alone Together, choreography by Catherine Galasso, in collaboration with the dancers, ODC Theater, San Francisco
- Anne Bluethenthal, Richelle Donigan, Laura Elaine Ellis, Joanna Haigood, Dominique Hargrove, Courtney Hope, Rebecca Johnson, Courtney King, Joan Lazarus, Sue Li Jue, Elvia Marta, Priscilla Regalado, Jane Schnorrenberg, Frances Sedayao, and Nina Wu, Spirit and Bones, choreography by Sarah Bush, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Taube Atrium Theater, War Memorial Veterans Building, San Francisco
- Sarah Chenoweth, Kara Davis, Chinchin Hsu, Rogelio Lopez, Manny Mendoza, Andrew Merrell, Julianna Monin, Danny Nguyen, Annamaria Santos, Nol Simonse, Tashanay Spain, Shaunna Vella, Jared Wiltse, and Leesha Zieber, Lipstick Lumberjacks, Losers and Leapfrogs: “an evening of theatrical pas de deux,” choreography by Shauna Vella and Andrew Merrell, The Humanist Hall, Oakland
- Garrett + Moulton Productions, Gojubi, choreography by Janice Garrett, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
- Samudra Dance Creations, The Earth Speaks, choreography by Jyotsna Vaidee, Cowell Theater, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text
- Nkeiruka Oruche, Monica Hastings-Smith, and Afro Urban Society (music), Connecting the Concrete to the Dust, choreography by Saabirah Faatimah, Nkeiruka Oruche, Tossie Long, and Kanukai Chigamba, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley
- Marlon Aldana (percussion), Joseph Churchill (percussion), Jorge Liceaga (flamenco guitar), Angel Yoel Mulen-Robert (vocals), Clara Rodriguez (vocals), and Robert Woods-LaDue (percussion) (music), Del Flamenco a la Rumba, choreography by Carola Zertuche and Denmis Bain Savigne, Ará Irawó and Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, CubaCaribe Festival, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
- Robert Moses and Renee Gregory (text), The Exceptionally Elderly Overweight Black Man Phoenix, choreography by Robert Moses, Robert Moses’ Kin, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, San Francisco
- Vicki Randle (composer/music director), Denise Woodward (sound design), and Skip the Needle (music), Spirit & Bones, choreography by Sarah Bush, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Taube Atrium Theater, War Memorial Veterans Building, San Francisco
- Aviva Rose-Williams and Molly Rose-Williams (text), Mind the Gap, choreography by Aviva Rose-Williams and Molly Rose-Williams, Kinetic Arts Center, Oakland and The Uptown, Oakland
- The Crooked Jades (music), World’s on Fire, choreography by Kate Weare, ODC/Dance, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design
- Jack Beuttler (lighting design) and Sean Riley (set design), The Wait Room: Part One of the Decarceration Trilogy, choreography by Jo Kreiter, in collaboration with the dancers, Flyaway Productions, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Richmond
- Alexa Burrell and Lena Gatchalian (video) and Harry Rubeck and Jaco Strydom (installation), Sin Palabras II: The Butterfly Effect, choreography by Krissy Keefer, Dance Brigade, D.I.R.T. (Dance in Revolt(ing) Times) Festival, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
- Aura Fischbeck (concept/direction) and Beth Hersh (lighting design), Dusk, a dance for the time when the light is fading, choreography by Aura Fischbeck, Aura Fischbeck Dance, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
- Kinetech Arts and Weidong Yang (heart monitors), Resonant Frequencies, choreography by Daiane Lopes da Silva, in collaboration with the dancers, Kinetech Arts, Kinetech Arts, Walking Distance Dance Festival, ODC Theater, San Francisco
- Hushidar Mortezale and Saba Taj (costume and visuals) and Anum Awan and MACROWAVES (video and set design), Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth: The Queer Intifada, choreography by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and jose e abad, CounterPulse, San Francisco
- Olivia Ting and Lenora Lee (media design), Beneath the Surface, choreography by Lenora Lee, in collaboration with performers, Lenora Lee Dance, YMCA of San Francisco, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction
- Jessie Egbert, Brian Fisher, Brandon Freeman, and Katherine Wells, restaging of Concerto Grosso (2000), choreography by Mark Foehringer, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Cowell Theater, San Francisco
- Virginia Matthews, restaging and revival of excerpts from 50 years of dance and choreography for Approaching 70 — 50 Years of a Life in Dance, choreography by Virginia Matthews, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
- Charles Moulton, revival of Ball Passing (1979), choreography Charles Moulton, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, San Francisco
- Nancy Raffa, restaging of Shostakovich Trilogy (2013), choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Production Honoree
- Pachuquismo, choreography by Vanessa Sanchez, La Mezcla, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco, for its unique telling of the story of Las Pachucas in the 1940s using tap dancing and son jarocho music.
Special Achievement Award Honorees
- Sandra Chinn, for her commitment to and excellence in the training, teaching, inspiring, and motivating dancers throughout the dance community.
- Kary Schulman, for her dedication to the arts community through the San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts, and her extraordinary leadership of San Francisco’s venerable funding structure and unflinching commitment to excellence and generosity at the helm of this important institution.
Sustained Achievement Award Honorees
- Black Choreographers Festival, for producing performances, forums, and educational opportunities which have inspired similar dance festivals recognizing and promoting the contributions of African American artists.
- Ensambles Ballet Folklórico de San Francisco, for 25 years of sharing, promoting, educating, and continuing one of the richest manifestations of tradition and culture in Mexican folkloric dance.
- Joe Landini, for twelve years of dedicated work developing and implementing the SAFEhouse Arts’ Resident Artist Workshop (RAW) program for emerging and established artists by providing rehearsal and performance space and mentorship. RAW has provided over 800 arts groups with resources and opportunities for experimentation and growth.
- Carla Service, for her 35 years of service to the dance community through Dance-A-Vision Entertainment. Under her leadership, the organization provides dance instruction for Bay Area youths, and produces performances, lecture demonstrations, and choreography training for the community-at-large. Her dedicated work has been the inspiration for many students to pursue careers in the entertainment field and beyond.
During each 12-month performance cycle, running September 1-August 31, the volunteer Izzies Committee collectively views over 400 eligible performances. The final nominees and honorees are selected at an annual voting meeting held in September after the close of the viewing cycle. Member profiles and lists of previous nominees and award 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: izzienotifications@gmail.com
This article appeared in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of In Dance.
