Award Categories

Awards will be considered in the following nine categories:

Outstanding Achievement in Direction or Choreography
For direction or choreography created by or for a Bay Area individual or company that had its Bay Area premiere during the period of eligibility.

• Notes:
  • A Bay Area individual is someone whose primary residence is in the Bay Area and who was living in the Bay Area at the time of the proposed award event or achievement.
  • A Bay Area company is a company whose primary base is in the Bay Area.

Outstanding Achievement in Performance — Individual
For performance(s) by a Bay Area artist or artist-in-residence during the period of eligibility. Category may include performances in both old and new work.

• Notes:
  • A Bay Area artist is someone whose primary residence is in the Bay Area and who was living in the Bay Area at the time of the proposed award event or achievement.
  • An Artist in Residence interacts with a Bay Area dance group or company in a variety of activities beyond rehearsal and performance. These activities may include (but are not restricted to) master classes, lectures, community outreach activities and producing work.

Outstanding Achievement in Performance — Ensemble
For any performances(s) by a group of two or more Bay Area individuals, but fewer than an entire company, during the period of eligibility. Category may include performances in both old and new work.

• Note:
  • A Bay Area individual is someone whose primary residence is in the Bay Area and who was living in the Bay Ares at the time of the proposed award event or achievement.

Outstanding Achievement in Performance — Company
For any Bay Area performance(s) by a Bay Area company during the period of eligibility. Category may include performances in both new and old work.

• Note:
  • A Bay Area company is a company whose primary base is in the Bay Area.

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design (Costumes, Lights, and Sets)
For sets, costumes, lighting, and other visual elements for work created by or for a Bay Area individual or company that had its Bay Area premiere during the period of eligibility.

• Notes:
  • A Bay Area individual is someone who was living in the Bay Area at the time of the proposed award event or achievement.
  • A Bay Area company is a company whose primary base is in the Bay Area.

Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text
For music, sound, or text created by or for a Bay Area individual or company that had its Bay Area premiere during the period of eligibility.

• Notes:
  • A Bay Area individual is someone who was living in the Bay Area at the time of the proposed award event or achievement.
  • A Bay Area company is a company whose primary base is in the Bay Area.

Outstanding Achievement in Restaging, Revival, or Reconstruction

• A restaging is a work previously produced by another company, set on a Bay Area company. (Example: Jose Limon’s Psalm, restaged by Carla Maxwell f. for sjDanceCo.)
• A revival is a work previously produced by a Bay Area company, re entering the company’s Bay Area repertory after an absence of three or more seasons. (Example: Jerome Robbins’s The Concert, last performed by the San Francisco Ballet in 1988, revived in 1993 by San Francisco Ballet.)
• A reconstruction is a work that has been absent from the dance repertory for a significant period, usually long enough that it returns to active status through the use of notation, documentation, anecdotal evidence, and the memories of past participants. (Example: Bronislava Nijinska’s Train Bleu, reconstructed for Oakland Ballet from the choreographer’s original notation by Irina Nijinska and Frank W. D. Ries.)

Special Award
For Outstanding Achievement during the previous viewing year by or for a Bay Area individual or organization in any category not listed above. Includes outstanding achievement in such areas as exhibitions, festivals, special events, photography, writing, television, radio, etc.

Sustained Achievement
For outstanding contributions spanning ten or more years in any field of Bay Area dance, including teaching, choreography, performance, writing, photography, visual design, music, support services, administration, etc.

Updated: 12/14/2024