ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES NOMINEES AND HONOREES FOR 2022-23 PERFORMANCE SEASON
San Francisco, California - The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee announces the “Izzie” nominees and honorees for the 2022-23 performance season.
The following is a list of nominations by awards category. Final awardees were announced at an in-person celebration event on Monday, March 25, 2024 at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. This Final Awardees are highlighted in Bold Type.
Outstanding Achievement in Choreography or Direction
● Eric Garcia, We Build Houses Here, Detour Dance, Oasis Nightclub, San Francisco
● Rogelio Lopez, Entre Despierto y Dormido, Rogelio Lopez and Dancers, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
● Danielle Rowe, MADCAP, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
● Amy Seiwert, Witness, ODC/Dance, Blue Shield Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
● Nadhi Thekkek, Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies, Nava Dance Theatre, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual
● Jin Lee Baobei, depth & mirrors, choreography by Jin Lee Baobei, Dragons Dance, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Crystaldawn Bell, Can I Keep Just One?, choreography by Crystaldawn Bell, Monica C. Moses, and Robert Moses, Robert Moses' Kin, Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
● Lawrence Chen, 2022-2023 Season, Artistic Director Graham Lustig, Oakland Ballet Company, Paramount Theater, Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center Laney College, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland; Hammer Theatre, San Jose; and Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
● Makhissa Sano, There’s a lemon tree growing inside her belly, choreography by Nicole Klaymoon in collaboration with dancers, Embodiment Project, 2023 Cuba Caribe Festival, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
● Nicole Townsend, Rainbow Dances 2023, Artistic Director Graham Lustig, Oakland Ballet Company, Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center Laney College, Oakland
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble
● Hannah Meleoakaiao Ayasse, Clarissa Rivera Dyas, Gabriele Christian, and Ainsley Elizabeth Tharp, something remains, direction by Clarissa Rivera Dyas and Jakob Pek in collaboration with Hannah Meleoakaiao Ayasse, Gabriele Christian, Ainsley Elizabeth Tharp, Julie Moon, Aaron Oppenheim, and Jennifer Wilsey, Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency, Dresher Ensemble Studio, Oakland
● Bianca Cabrera, Nico Maimon, Chelsea Mulholland and Nina Wu, Fever Dreams, choreography by Bianca Cabrera, Blind Tiger Society, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Carolina Czechowska & Jamielyn Duggan, Coordinates, choreography by Erik Wagner, with collaborators Carolina Czechowska and Jamielyn Duggan, James Graham Dance Theatre: Dance Lovers 11, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
● Kevin Gaytan, Matt Han, and Rogelio Lopez, Entre Despierto y Dormido, choreography by Rogelio Lopez, Rogelio Lopez and Dancers, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
● Joseph A Hernandez and Kelsey McFalls, Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon, choreography by Natasha Adorlee, Amy Seiwert's Imagery: SKETCH 13, ODC Theater, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company
● Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Music and Dance of Bali, 2022-2023 Guest Dance Director: Cok Istri Putri Rukmini, Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center, Berkeley
● Ishami Dance Company, Pehchaan, direction by Ishika Seth and Amit Patel, Oakland Theater Project, Oakland
● Los Lupeños de San José, Ritos y Costumbres, Artistic Direction Samuel Cortez, Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose and Boda de Pueblo en Sinaloa, choreography Yahir Padilla, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco
● Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu, MĀHŪ, Director/Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne, Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco
● Quare Dance, Quare Dance, choreography by Alyah Baker in collaboration with performers, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley
Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text
● Julie Crothers (text) and Ben Juodvalkis (music), Holy Crap, Julie Crothers, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Jordan Glenn and Max Judelson, composers; Jordan Glenn, Max Judelson, Erika Ora, Cory Wright, musicians, Imaginary Country, Sharp & Fine, Z Space, San Francisco
● Annette Philip, Music Artist, Pehchaan, Ishami Dance Company, Oakland Theater Project, Oakland
● Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti, 2022-2024 Guest Music Director, Music and Dance of Bali, Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center, Berkeley
● Brian Thorstenson, Playwright, Kat Gorospe Cole, Quinn Dixon, Syd Franz, Eric Garcia, Audrey Johnson, Melissa Lewis, Wiley Naman Strasser, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Contributing Writers, We Build Houses Here, Detour Dance, Oasis Nightclub, San Francisco
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design
● Jim French (Lighting Designer) in recognition of his contributions to Bay Area dance in creating unique and compelling lighting for a range of programming in the 2022-23 including lighting the nine world-premiere ballets of San Francisco Ballet’s next@90 festival, Myles Thatcher’s Colorforms, Yuri Possokhov’s Postscriptum, Amy Seiwert’s French Kiss and SF Danceworks' 2023 Season
● Krystal Harfert, Costume Designer, Fever Dreams, Blind Tiger Society, ODC Theater, San Francisco
● Hiroki Inokuchi and Jun Nishida, Projection Designers, Bolero - Yuka Oishi Production, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
● Rogelio Lopez, Costume, Lighting and Scenic Designer, Entre Despierto y Dormido, Rogelio Lopez and Dancers, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
● Clarissa Rivera Dyas (Co-Director, Performer), Jakob Pek (Co-Director, Composer, Visual Artist), Jessi Barber (Lighting Designer), Robert Reetz (Set Construction), something remains, Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency, Dresher Ensemble Studio, Oakland
Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction
● ODC/Dance and KT Nelson, revival of Path of Miracles (2018), ODC/Dance, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
● San Francisco Playhouse, restaging of A Chorus Line (1976), San Francisco Playhouse, San Francisco Playhouse, San Francisco
● Val Caniparoli, revival of SWIPE (2011), Smuin Contemporary Ballet, staged by Kristen Gallagher, Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Production Honoree
●La Tania Baile Flamenco and the Presidio Theatre recognized for the outstanding production of Solaz, an immersive flamenco, multimedia performance inspired by the Egyptian Temple of Debod, with artistic direction by La Tania and Adrián Arias, featuring Melissa Cruz, Cristina Hall, Mizuho Sato, José Luis de la Paz, José Cortés, Gary Haggerty, and Faisal Zedan.
Special Achievement Award Honorees
● Rena Butler for her choreography and outstanding use of dance in Matthew Ozawa’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice at San Francisco Opera in which dancers amplify the emotions of the characters.
● Dance Mission Theater for the D. I. R.T. Festival 2023: Citizen SUPREME, featuring sixteen dance/performance works in response to recent supreme court decisions that stripped away freedoms and pushed progress back decades, including those surrounding reproductive justice, gun control, and environmental protection.
● José Ome Mazatl and Debby Kajiyama of NAKA Dance Theater for outstanding community-based social justice collaboration, lifting up the stories of Indigenous and Latina immigrant women through their work with the grassroot organization, Mujeres Unidas y Activas.
Sustained Achievement Honorees
● Recognizing Dimensions Dance Theater on the occasion of their extraordinary 50th Anniversary. Dimensions Dance Theater embodies the transformative power of the arts, through the creation and performance of dance that reflects the lives and historical experiences of the African Diaspora. This Oakland-based dance company and school, known for its presentations of traditional and contemporary choreography drawn from African, Caribbean, Jazz and Modern dance idioms, has been essential to the visibility and advancement of African American dance as an art form for half a century.
● In honor of choreographer Nancy Karp on the 40th Anniversary of her dancemaking in the Bay Area and in appreciation for continuing to create and expand the universal understanding of modern dance, interdisciplinary collaborative practice, and by creating and maintaining records throughout her career, which document the work of Nancy Karp + Dancers for future generations. Placing the records of her process, the printed program, notebooks, photos, video and related ephemera of the full dance creation process with the dance archive at UC Berkeley Bancroft Library allows scholars insight into Bay Area artists and their methods.
● Sustained Achievement Award, presented posthumously, to Robert Henry Johnson for his deep and abiding contributions to the Bay Area Dance Community as a dancer, choreographer, playwright, poet, and teacher. An extraordinary performing artist whose precocious brilliance, evident from childhood glowing with promise, blossomed into artistry of such charismatic phrasing and inspired flow of movement, none who saw him could forget the sight. He became the radiant embodiment of an enduring spiritual truth, expressing authentic narrative of the Black experience, while centering his practice of Christian faith and evangelism through his art.
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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