Joyce Theater Expands The A.W.A.R.D. Show Starting 6/18
Inspired by the previous success of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! in New York City and Gainesville, Florida, The Joyce Theater Foundation is partnering with three presenting organizations- The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and On the Boards (Seattle)-to expand The A.W.A.R.D. Show! across the country. The A.W.A.R.D. Show! was created in response to a need for a lab-like space in which working dance artists can engage in an open dialogue with the audience about their work. It is dedicated to nurturing new work, discussion, exploration, creativity and to the free exchange of ideas, thoughts and opinions.
Each of these four series, in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle, will present the work of 12 promising contemporary choreographers. Three preliminary evenings will feature the work of four choreographers per night. Each dance piece will be 12-15 minutes of a completed work, excerpt or work-in-progress. After each performance, a moderated artist and audience discussion will take place, followed by an audience vote to select a finalist to perform again on the fourth and final night of the series. Each night the audience and the artists will be invited to a post-performance reception where further informal dialogue about the work is encouraged. On the final night, a panel of experts in dance and other cultural arts fields, along with the audience, will choose the winner of the award in that city.
The first place winners in each of the four participating cities will receive $10,000 cash awards. The two runners-up in each city will receive $1,000. These awards are to be used toward the creation of new dance work. This expansion into Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle is made possible by a generous grant from The Boeing Company.
The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 Schedule of Events:
1) Joyce SoHo (New York City):
Performances June 18-21, 2009 at 7pm
155 Mercer Street, New York, NY
Performance Tickets: $15
Ovation Tickets: 212-352-3101 or visit joyce.org
Tickets available May 15, 2009
2) The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago:
Performances June 24-27, 2009 at 8pm
1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
Performance Tickets: $15
Columbia Ticket Center: 312-369-6600 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter
3) Philadelphia Live Arts Festival:
Performances September 15-17 and 19, 2009 at 8pm
The Black Box Theater at the Festival Hub
SW Corner of 5th & Fairmount Streets, Philadelphia, PA
Preliminary Performance Tickets: $25; Final Performance Tickets: $30
Discounts available for multiple ticket buyers
Advance tickets available May 2009: livearts-fringe.org
4) On the Boards (Seattle):
Performances December 10-13, 2009 at 8pm
Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance
100 W. Roy Street, Seattle, WA
Performance Tickets: $12
On the Boards Box Office: 206-217-9888 or visit ontheboards.org
The founder of The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, Neta Pulvermacher, summarizes her vision by explaining, "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."
Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater Foundation, expresses her enthusiasm for the expansion of a concept that began with Ms. Pulvermacher's vision at Joyce SoHo three years ago, "I am thrilled that The Boeing Company is able to offer their support and bring The A.W.A.R.D. Show! to these three new cities, expanding the presence of the project to a national level. It is quite a challenge for choreographers to find the resources to make new work and there is a need for audiences to deepen their understanding of work created; The A.W.A.R.D. Show! helps to address both of these issues."
While watching the works, 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? How singular is the artist's movement language, concept and vision?
- Execution: Were the performers committed, well-rehearsed and capable of carrying 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 also fill out comment cards. These comment cards will be given to the artists to offer feedback on their work.
Past recipients of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! creation and production award include La Manga Video & Dance Company from Mexico (2006), Kate Weare Company from New York (2007) and Deganit Shemy & Company from New York (2008).
The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 is administered by The Joyce Theater Foundation.
The $10,000 cash award for the first place winner and the $1,000 cash awards for the runners-up in New York City are underwritten by a generous contribution from Scott Kasen. Mr. Kasen has provided support for The A.W.A.R.D. Show! since its founding in 2006 by Neta Pulvermacher/Neta Dance Company with original co-production by Marisa König Beatty. Other initial funders of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! included The Puffin Foundation, LMCC's Manhattan Community Arts Fund and The Maxine Greene Foundation.
As expressed by Mr. Kasen, "The dual objectives of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! are to provide a platform for the exposure of choreographers and to serve as a conduit to channel financial support to the modern dance community. The Boeing Company's sponsorship of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! [in Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle] puts the event on an entirely new plane...As The A.W.A.R.D. Show! embarks on this new phase, under the stewardship of The Joyce Theater, I look forward to a continued personal affiliation with this unique forum."
The four first-place winners and the runners-up of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 will report back on their progress in creating a new work with the prize money that they receive and when a performance of the work is scheduled it will be advertised on The Joyce Theater website and also on each company's website as well. In this way, the audience will have a chance to attend a performance and see a dance work that they ultimately helped to fund.
The artists participating in The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 will be selected through an open call for applications from the following geographic areas; promising contemporary dance artists may apply to only one of the four locations, with one work, in 2009:
New York City Specifications: Dance artists from anywhere in the United States may apply to The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 series taking place in New York City at Joyce SoHo.
Chicago Area Specifications: Dance artists from anywhere in the Chicago Metropolitan Area may apply to The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 series taking place in Chicago at The Dance Center. The Chicago Metropolitan Area encompasses Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
Philadelphia Area Specifications: Dance artists from anywhere in the Greater Philadelphia Area may apply to The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 series taking place at The Black Box Theater at the Festival Hub as part of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. The Greater Philadelphia Area encompasses Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
Seattle Area Specifications: Dance artists from anywhere in the Northwest Region may apply to The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009 series taking place in Seattle at On the Boards. The Northwest Region encompasses Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), Idaho (ID), Montana (MT) and Alaska (AK).
An application for each of the four cities can be downloaded from The Joyce Theater Foundation website at www.joyce.org/about_specialevents_awardshow.html. The application deadline is Tuesday, March 31, 2009. Applications must be received on this date at The Joyce Theater no later than 5:30pm EST. A national panel, with representatives from Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle, as well as Martin Wechsler, director of programming of The Joyce Theater Foundation, will review all of the applications and select the 12 artists/companies who will have a chance to show their work in Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle. The panelists will be looking for choreographers who have the potential to create inspirational and inventive work
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