FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2009

PRESS CONTACT:
Rebecca Johnson  (415) 722-2457
press@izzies.org

ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES 2008-2009 NOMINEES

San Francisco, CA – The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee announces the nominees for its 2008-2009 viewing cycle. The awardees will be announced at the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Ceremony to be held January 12, 2010 at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library at 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA. The doors open at 6 pm and the ceremony is from 6:05 – 7:00 pm. It is free and open to the public. 2010 marks the Izzies 24th year of presenting the Awards Ceremony.

The “Izzies” awards celebrate the unique richness, diversity, and excellence of Bay Area dance. Izzies are awarded in nine categories for outstanding achievement by dancers, choreographers, their collaborators, composers, and others contributing to the vitality and advancement of the Bay Area’s dance community. The Sustained Achievement and Special Awards recipients are listed below. The awardees of the other seven categories will be announced at the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Ceremony. The list of finalists is for the viewing cycle of September 1, 2008 through August 31, 2009.

Outstanding Achievement in Choreography

- Susan Cashion, “Salón México” performed by Los Lupeños de San José, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 3
- Gregory Dawson, “Which Light in the Sky is Us” performed by Company C Contemporary Ballet
- Stephen Pelton, “and a white light in the back of my mind to guide me” performed by Stephen Pelton Dance Theater
- Scott Wells, “What Men Want” performed by Scott Wells & Dancers
- Yuri Zhukov, “Pioneer Plaques” performed by Zhukov Dance Theatre

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual

- Ramon Moreno Acanda for entire season with Ballet San Jose
- José Francisco Barroso, “Shango, King of Oyo”, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 3
- Laura Elaine Ellis, “Grace – 35th Anniversary Celebration”, Dimensions Dance Theater
- Christy Funsch, “Three Rue Road”, Stephen Pelton Dance Theater
- Sarah Van Patten for entire season with the San Francisco Ballet

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble

- Nicolas Blanc, Tina LeBlanc, “Within the Golden Hour”, San Francisco Ballet
- Davit Karapetyan, Ivan Popov, Sarah Van Patten, Vanessa Zahorian, “Stravinsky Violin Concerto”, San Francisco Ballet
- Tina LeBlanc, Pascal Molat, Sofiane Sylve, “Jewels – Rubies”, San Francisco Ballet
- Daniel Santos, Vanessa Thiessen, “They’ve Lost Their Footing”, ODC/Dance
- Juan Siddi, Carola Zertuche, “Encuentro”, Theatre Flamenco, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 1

Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company

- Ballet San Jose, “Dark Elegies”
- Los Lupeños de San José, “Salón México”, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 3
- Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 3
- Paufve Dance, “That Obscure Subject of Desire”
- San Francisco Ballet, “Within the Golden Hour”

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design (Costumes, Lights, and Sets)

- Ely Aceves, Julia Adam, Michael Ansell, Jack Carpenter, Rebecca Crowell, Christine Darch, Thyra Hartshorn, David McCollum, Cindy Sarmiento, “The Little Prince”, Diablo Ballet
- Jack Carpenter, “Traveling Light”, Joe Goode Performance Group
- Patty-Ann Farrell, “Keep Her Safe, Please!”, Wan-Chao Chang Dance, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 4
- figureplant/David Fredrickson, Karl Gillick, “The Ballad of Polly Ann”, FlyAway Productions
- Rachel Stone, “That Obscure Subject of Desire”, Paufve Dance
- Patrick Toebe, “Which Light in the Sky is Us”, Company C Contemporary Ballet

Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text

- Katie Faulkner, “Terra Incognito”, Manuelito Biag with Alex Ketley, Kara Davis, 2009 WestWave Dance Festival
- Lizbeth Hasse, Joe Orrach, “In My Corner”
- Heather Gehr, Joyce Harris, Violet Henderson, Audrey Hudson, Jo Kreiter, Silvia Ledezma, Harvey Schwartz, Pamela Z, Kristi Tuemmler, “The Ballad of Polly Ann”, FlyAway Productions
- Tatsu Aoki, Jonathan Chen, Dohee Lee, Jason Lewis, Francis Wong, “FLUX”
- Matt Lucas, Sandy Perez, Chris Walker, “Shango, King of Oyo”, Obakoso Drum and Dance Ensemble, 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend 3

Outstanding Achievement in Restaging, Revival, or Reconstruction

- Betsy Erickson, Susan Weber, “A Garden”, San Francisco Ballet, by Mark Morris, San Francisco Ballet (2001)
- Flemming Flindt, Vivi Flindt, Raymond Rodriguez, “The Toreador”, San Jose Ballet, by Flemming Flindt, Royal Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark (1978)
- Laura Graham, “in the middle, somewhat elevated”, San Francisco Ballet, by William Forsythe, Paris Opera (1987)
- Ramon Moreno Acanda, “Muñecos”, Pointe of Departure, by Alberto Mendes, Concours International de Ballet de Japon (1978)
- Wendy Van Dyck, “Boink!”, Company C Contemporary Ballet, by Val Caniparoli, Lawrence Pech Company (2002)

Special Award – for outstanding achievement during the viewing cycle (September 1 – August 31) by or for a Bay Area individual or organization

- Dohee Lee, “FLUX”
- Jo Kreiter, “The Ballad of Polly Ann”

Sustained Achievement – for outstanding contributions spanning ten or more years in any field of Bay Area Dance

- Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center in Berkeley, founded by David Nadel in 1973 to serve the Bay Area’s interests in multi-cultural participatory music and dance
- Marc Platt, distinguished Bay Area dancer who starred with Ballets Russes, on Broadway, and in Hollywood movies
- Roy Bogas, Principal Solo Pianist for the San Francisco Ballet

About the Committee:

The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee seeks to honor local dance artists and promote their visibility, primarily by acknowledging outstanding achievements on an annual basis. Created in 1984 as part of Dance Bay Area, the awards were first given in 1985. 2010 marks the Izzies’ 24th year. The Izzies Committee is fiscally sponsored by Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. The committee members include arts administrators, choreographers, critics, dancers, teachers, and writers who serve one- or three-year terms. Committee member profiles, descriptions of the award categories, rules of procedure and financial statement, and past awardees are available at www.izzies.org.