San Francisco, California, March 27, 2012 – The winners of the 2012 Isadora Duncan Dance Awards were announced at a ceremony featuring luminaries from the local, national and international dance communities.

Hosting the ceremony was the celebrated choreographer Val Caniparoli and Denise Pate, Cultural Funding Coordinator for the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.

Among those presenting awards were Edward Villella, Founding Artistic Director of the Miami City Ballet and former New York City Ballet dancer; choreographer Scott Wells, Artistic Director of Scott Wells & Dancers; KT Nelson, choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of ODC; former San Francisco Ballet ballerina Joanna Berman; choreographer Sara Shelton Mann, founding Artistic Director of Contraband; Rudi Soriano, choreographer and Artistic Director of Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble; filmmaker and cinematographer Austin Forbord; Carlos Carvajal and CK Ladzekpo, Artistic Directors of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival; Rob Bailis, former Theater Director of ODC;  Mercy Sidbury, founding member of the Oberlin Dance Collective and performer with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company; composer and musician Joan Jenrenaud; flamenco guitarist Kenny Parker, and flamenco singer/dancer Kina Mendez, niece of legendary flamenco singer “La Paquera.”

The following is the list of Izzie Award winners by category

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company

• The Dancers of Terra Incognita, Revisited, (Celine Alwyn, Kayin Ecklin, Daniel Howerton, Alex Jenkins, Peiling Kao, Nick Korkos, Malinda LaVelle, Mo Miner, Adam Peterson, Aline Wachsmith), choreography by Alex Ketley, Kara Davis, Katie Faulkner and Manuelito Biag, performed for the West Wave Festival at Z Space.

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble

• Katie Faulkner and Brandon “Private” Freeman, Until We Know For Sure, choreography by Katie Faulkner, performed at the A.W.A.R.D. Show at ODC Theater.

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual

• Sofiane Sylve, Symphony in C, “2nd Movement,” choreography by George Balanchine, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the Stern Grove Festival.

Outstanding Achievement in Choreography

• Alex Ketley, Kara Davis, Katie Faulkner, Manuelito Biag, Terra Incognita, Revisited, performed for the West Wave Festival at Z Space.

Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text

• Zakir Hussain, music for Sheherazade, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design

• Axel Morgenthaler, Lighting Design; Robert Rosenwasser, Set and Costume Design; Colleen Quen, Costume Design, Sheherazade, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
• Christopher Haas, Set Design, Triangle of the Squinches, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
• Enrico Labayen, Costumes and Visual Design, En-Gulfed, choreography by Enrico Labayen, performed by Labayen Dance/SF at Dance Mission Theater

Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction

• Antoine Vereecken, restaging of Chroma by Wayne McGregor (2006), performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House

Special Award Honorees

• Lorena Feijoo, Maria Kochetkova, Yuan Yuan Tan, Sarah Van Patten, & Vanessa Zahorian – “The Many Faces of Giselle” -  for 5 stellar interpretations of the title role in the quintessential romantic ballet Giselle, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House

• Nina Menendez and The Bay Area Flamenco Partnership – for the 2010 Festival Flamenco Gitano which presented two multi-generational families of flamenco artists from the Spanish gypsy community of Andalucia in performances displaying how the music and dance traditions of flamenco are passed down through several generations

• Patty-Ann Farrell – for her lighting designs for the 33^rd San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival at the Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Sustained Achievement Honorees

• Deborah DuBowy and Words on Dance – for 18 years of presenting celebrated dance artists with the opportunity to speak about their careers and share their passion for dance with the larger dance community

•  Cathleen McCarthy and Joan Lazarus and West Wave Dance – for 20 years of presenting groundbreaking dance in the San Francisco Bay Area

• Dr. James Garrick and The Center for Sports Medicine at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital – for the Saint Francis Dance Medicine practice, created to meet the unique needs of stage performers