AWARD Show

Michel Rodriguez, dancer and choreographer, was born in Havana, Cuba and graduated from the National School of Art in 2003. He began dancing as a company member of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and became a principal dancer in 2006 participating in the International Theater Festival of Havana, Biennale of Venice, Temps D'Images of Dusseldorf and Sziget Festival in Budapest, performing in England and Mexico and teaching workshops in Spain. He has worked with choreographers Jan Linkens, Kenneth Kvarnstrom, Samir Akika, Cathy Marston, Luca Bruni and Rafael Bonachela. Rodriguez moved to Chicago in 2008 and has been a company member of Hedwig Dances for two seasons. He is currently choreographing a new dance, Walking, that will premiere in Hedwig Dances' fall 2010 concert.

   
Joanna Rosenthal, choreographer, dancer, teacher and artistic director for Same Planet Different World Dance Theater, has been performing professionally and teaching dance since 1996. She received her B.F.A. in dance from the University of Iowa and her M.F.A. in dance as an Iowa Arts Fellow at the University of Iowa. In addition to overseeing the technique and development of SPDW's company members, Rosenthal has been on faculty at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and she has taught at Lou Conte Dance Studio and other Chicago area dance studios. Rosenthal has performed extensively in Chicago, dancing for seven years with Mordine & Company Dance Theater and for five years with Lucky Plush Productions, as well as appearing as a guest artist with the Chicago Moving Company, Hedwig Dances and Kayle + Company and several other independent artists. Her work has been performed in Chicago, Iowa, Omaha, St. Louis, Minnesota and New York.

   
Molly Shanahan is a dancemaker and the artistic director of Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, the Chicago-based home for her movement and performance research. Shanahan's core values stem from the belief that convergences of creation and performance form communities and inspire change for both artist and witness. Her work is researched through a mining of the inner world in tandem with a movement vocabulary comprised of richly detailed spirals; subtle and idiosyncratic shifts of relationship, image and memory; and the exchange of compulsive musculature for expressive freedom. Recent and current projects signal her expansion from craft and theme-driven abstract dances to live performance research of spontaneity and vulnerability as productive creative states within the context of performances that honor the witness' role in co-creating the experience. Her evening length solo My Name is Blackbird was listed as one of the "top ten dance moments of the decade" by TimeOut Chicago. Shanahan's work has been performed at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, Links Hall and Storefront Theater in Chicago, as well as Joyce SoHo and Dance Theater Workshop in New York and Tangente in Montreal. She is a full-time lecturer in Northwestern University's dance program, teaches at the Lou Conte Dance Studio and conducts classes and workshops in Chicago and nationally.

   
Jacqueline Stewart, a dancer and choreographer, graduated from the University of Iowa in 2007 with a B.F.A. in contemporary dance. A Chicago native, she began dancing at the age of three under the direction of Maureen Murad. She has studied under Basil Tompson and George De La Pena. She performed for three seasons with Duarte Dance Works Contemporary Dance and has danced for various other artists, including Deana Carter in Rimini, Italy in 2006. In recent years Stewart returned to Chicago, where she made guest performances with The Dance COLEctive and The Seldoms, performing works by Jennifer Kayle and Darrell Jones. She joined Thodos Dance Chicago in 2007 and continues to dance and choreograph actively in the company. She also teaches youth dance classes under Thodos at the Menomonee Club for Kids and is a Pilates instructor. Stewart has choreographed for Poetic Rebound Company, Open House Dance Chicago charity Event, Dance Chance Chicago and The Open Space Project 2010. She has showcased new works during the past two years for Thodos Dance Chicago's "New Dances" and will premiere a new work in July.

   
Mary Tisa earned a B.A. in English and dance from The George Washington University, where she received the Presidential Arts Scholarship in Dance and the Nancy Diers Johnston Award for Outstanding Choreography. While there, she performed with Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. as a Performing Apprentice. Since coming to Chicago, she has performed as a company member with the Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Corpo Dance Company and Chicago Dance Crash and as a performing apprentice with Inaside Dance Chicago. During the Inaside Choreographic Sponsorship Evening, the audience selected her choreography for inclusion during the company's 2010 Spring Dance Concert. She has also created work for Jay-son Tisa Dance Company, for which she has served as co-artistic director; Core Project; and various student dance companies throughout Chicagoland.

   
Alicia Wilson comes from Southern California, where she began making her modern dance training at Riverside City College (RCC). Now living in Chicago, she recently graduated cum laude from Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in dancemaking and dance studies. Wilson has presented numerous works as a student at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, as well as performed in pieces by Samantha Spriggs and Lisa Johnson-Willingham. She has presented her research on the popular representation of the dancing body at the Dancing Under Construction conference at UC Riverside, and she is currently the dance writer for the Windy City Times. Wilson strives to connect her research to her choreography, creating thought-provoking works that challenge assumptions through complex movement invention.
   

Chicago Participating Artist's Photo Gallery

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Schedule of Events

1)  The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago:

     July 28–31, 2010 at 8pm

     1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

     Tickets: $15 

     The Dance Center: 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter

     Tickets available June 2010

2) Joyce SoHo (New York City):

                  November 17–20, 2010 at 7pm

                  155 Mercer Street, New York, NY

                  Tickets: $15

 Joyce Charge: 212-242-0800 or visit joyce.org

 Tickets available September 2010

3) ODC Theater (San Francisco):

January 12–15, 2011

3153 17th Street, San Francisco, CA

  Tickets: $18 single tickets (advance sale) or $60 for all four shows (advance sale)

  ODC Theater Box office: 415-863-9834 or visit odctheater.org

4) On the Boards (Seattle):

January 27–30, 2011 at 8pm

Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance

100 W. Roy Street, Seattle, WA

Tickets: $15

On the Boards Box Office: 206-217-9888 or visit ontheboards.org

5) Dance Affiliates (Philadelphia):

 Series dates in 2011 to be determined

danceaffiliates.org

6) REDCAT (Los Angeles)

                 January 13-16, 2011

                 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 

                 REDCAT Box Office: 213-237-2800 or visit redcat.org

About The A.W.A.R.D. Show!

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater Foundation, said: “Last year’s successful expansion of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! in partnership with presenters in Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle was very exciting–over 3,000 audience members participated. With increased funding from The Boeing Company, The Joyce is thrilled to broaden the program even further, to include San Francisco and Los Angeles. Dance artists across the country will now have the opportunity to receive over $70,000 to create new work in 2010 and 2011.”

Choreographer Neta Pulvermacher, the founder of The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, summarizes her vision: “The idea is that, by declaring out loud and upfront that audiences for The A.W.A.R.D. Show! are charged with the rights and the responsibility to make qualitative choices about what they see, the selection process becomes transparent and hopefully encourages honesty.  Then, the audience and artists can get on with the task of really looking at the work before them for what it is and to try and see it deeply. For me, The A.W.A.R.D. Show! is about freedom–the freedom to see, respond, imagine, dream, create, make or even fail, and the freedom to speak your mind and heart.”

The audiences and the panel will be asked to think objectively about their choices and to evaluate the work according to the “P.O.E.M.” criteria: Potential, Originality, Execution and Merit.

•  Potential: Does the artist have potential and seem to have the maturity to take advantage of such an award at this point in his/her career?

•  Originality: Does the artist have a personal and unique voice?  Is the work innovative and does it take risks?  How singular is the artist’s movement language, concept and vision?

•  Execution: Were the performers committed, well-rehearsed and capable of carrying out(?) the intricacies of the artist’s vision?

•  Merit: Can a value of the whole be attributed based on the combination of the work’s Potential, Originality and Execution?

Along with their votes, the audience will provide artists with anonymous comment cards, which will offer feedback on their work.

Past Winners

Past recipients of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! $10,000 creation and production award include La Manga Video & Dance Company (2006), Kate Weare company (2007), Deganit Shemy & Company (2008), Makiko Tamura- small apple co. (2009), Jessica Miler Tomlinson (2009), Nichole Canuso (2009) and Amelia Reeber (2009).

Panelists

Martin Wechsler, Director of Programming, The Joyce Theater Foundation

 Martin Wechsler joined the staff of The Joyce as an administrative assistant in 1985. Soon after, he moved to the booking department and helped to develop The Joyce Theater’s dance education program, first as an assistant, and eventually as the Director of Booking and Education. Since 1996, Martin has been The Joyce’s Director of Programming. In this capacity, he seeks out the best dance from New York, the United States and the world, and selects more than 30 companies to perform each season as part of The Joyce’s subsidized rental and presentation programs. In addition to programming the companies, Martin is responsible for negotiating all of the engagement contracts. He also oversees The Joyce’s commissioning and artist residency programs, and curates Evening Stars, an annual free outdoor dance festival. With his extensive knowledge of the dance field, Martin is often asked to serve on advisory and grant making panels.

Phil Reynolds, Executive Director, The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago

 Phil Reynolds began his tenure as Executive Director of The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago in 1998. The Dance Center is Chicago’s leading presenter of contemporary dance and the only academic program in Chicago leading to a BA or BFA in Dance. Prior to moving to Chicago, he directed Catamount Film and Arts Company, an exemplary multi-disciplinary presenter and local arts agency in northeastern Vermont, for seven years. Reynolds began his professional career at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He was also employed in New York as Executive Director of the Nikolais and Murray Louis Foundation for Dance. In 2008, Reynolds accepted a three-year appointment to represent The Dance Center as a National Dance Project Hub Site. He has served on funding panels for Creative Capital’s Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund, The Japan Foundation, Dance Advance - a program of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Illinois Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council, Connecticut Arts Commission, Chicago Dancemakers Forum and Chamber Music America. Phil Reynolds was awarded the Chevalier de L’Order des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication in 2006. In 2004, he was recognized by the Chicago Tribune as a Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts, Dance. Reynolds received a BA from Middlebury College and an MFA in Arts Management from Columbia University.   

Rob Bailis, Director, ODC Theater

Rob Bailis has been Director of ODC Theater in San Francisco since 2003. Under his leadership, the Theater has undergone an $8.5 million dollar expansion of its facility, and received numerous national awards in recognition of its presenting and artist advocacy programs. In 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle named Bailis “MVP” in dance presenting, describing his curation as, “…smart…instinctive, and… infectious.” He has served as a panelist/advisor for arts funding organizations including Creative Capital, WESTAF, SF Arts Commission, New England Foundation for the Arts, the Rasmuson Foundation and Chamber Music America. A professional clarinetist, Bailis is lauded for his "sweet, singing tone...and technical wizardry..." -S.F. Classical Voice, and has performed across the U.S., Canada, Asia, and the U.K. In 1999, he joined the Napa Valley Symphony, where he is tenured, and he continues to perform with numerous ensembles throughout California. An active lyricist and librettist, Mr. Bailis’ newest piece, Love/Hate, is in development at American Opera Projects in New York City. It will premiere at Urban Arias in Virginia in Spring 2011, and tour to Houston, New York and San Francisco. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and Yale.   

Lane Czaplinski, Artistic Director, On the Boards

Lane Czaplinski has been the Artistic Director of On the Boards since 2001. Prior to moving to Seattle, Czaplinski served as the Program Manager at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and worked in various capacities at the Lied Center at the University of Kansas. He has worked with many organizations as a panelist/advisor including the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, National Endowment for the Arts, National Dance Project, CEC/Artslink, National Performance Network, Arts International, American College Dance Festival, Creative Capital and the Bessie Committee.  

F. Randolph (Randy) Swartz, Artistic Director, Dance Affiliates

Randy Swartz has been a dance presenter in Philadelphia for more than 38 years. In 1970, Mr. Swartz founded the Philadelphia Dance Alliance, the city’s dance service organization. Dance Affiliates was formed in 1983 by Mr. Swartz to provide world-class dance programming in the Delaware Valley. He has been the artistic director of the annual Dance Celebration series at the Annenberg Center for the past 28 seasons. Mr. Swartz was a founding member of the board of the International Ballet Competition Inc. and served as executive director of the first competition in Jackson, Mississippi in 1979. He served as the executive director of the American Ballet Competition, the non-profit organization that sponsored American participation in international competitions. Mr. Swartz was the American judge at the Osaka, Japan in 1983, 1987 and 1995. A former Board Member of Philadanco, he currently serves on the state PCA Advisory Panel, the PA Presenters and national Board of Advisors for Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher.

GEORGE LUGG, Artistic Director, REDCAT

George Lugg, Associate Director of the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), has been working in contemporary performance presenting since 1991. At REDCAT he oversees the implementation of a diverse array of multidisciplinary programming, serves on the curatorial team for dance and theater, coordinates an ongoing series for new works and works in progress, and produces the annual New Original Works Festival. He is a member of the U.S. curatorial team for the National Performance Network's Performing Americas Project, and has served on artistic juries and panels for the Santa Monica Arts Commission, Los Angeles EdgeFest and On the Boards' Northwest New Works Festival. George has a degree from the University of Washington.
 

The panel members who will review the applications for The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010 series in New York City will be selected in the summer of 2010.

Sponsor Credit

The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010–2011 is administered by The Joyce Theater Foundation.