Metro DC Dance Awards > Process

Process

About
Process
2010 Nominees
Past Winners
Ceremony
Silent Auction
Donors

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Nomination
Nominations will be accepted by either a self-nominating artist or from someone else who is nominating the artist or production. 
Nominators will:
- Complete the nomination form, including nomination statement, signing a hard copy printed from the on-line form available at www.dancemetrodc.org
- Obtain a work sample pertaining to the nominated performance/s (described on-line and below in the FAQ's section) from the artist/designer nominated, and a completed work sample-information sheet.
- Submit the nomination form, work sample, and the work sample-information sheet to Dance/Metro DC offices by the specified deadline. Incomplete nominations cannot be considered.
There are two deadlines for nominations specific to their relation to the nominated performance. Complete nomination packages are due at Dance/MetroDC offices NO later than:
February 15, 2009 by 5:00pm, for performances occurring June 1, 2008 – December 31, 2008, and, June 15, 2009 by 5:00 pm, for performances occurring January 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009
 

Panelists' decisions will be based primarily on viewing the work samples together and discussing the nomination statements: the panel as a group is engaged in full dialogue.   Panelists may be invited, at the initiative of community members, to view live performances, providing complimentary tickets to the panelist. It is not a requirement to have a panel member in attendance for the production/artist to be nominated.
(A partial list of panelists will be made available by September 30, 2008, with a full list in place by October 31, 2008).

Pre-Screening Panels
With the goal of finding five or fewer final nominees for each award category, a pre-screening panel of five to seven committee members will:
- View together the submitted work samples for their particular assigned
award categories;
- Discuss the nomination statement and what they have viewed and decide
as a group the finalists for that category.
 

Qualifiers:
There will be a total of  two to three pre-screening panels, dependent on the number
of nominees overall and possibly depending on  the number per category.
Ballot voting (one member = one vote) will not be the mode of the panels, in favor of group dialogue and consensus on the finalists.Conflicts of interest on the part of individual panelists will be avoided whenever possible; if conflict of interest is unavoidable, the panelist will be recused from that particular decision. Artists nominated may not serve on a panel that is assigned a category for which they are nominated. For the 2009 Awards, the Pre-Screening Panels will meet between June
22nd and June 30th, 2009.

 

Final Panel
A Final Panel will be culled from the approximately one-third of those panelists in the pre-screening panels, with representation from all pre-screening panels.
Final Panel members will be vetted to have no conflict of interest with any of the finalists being considered.  If it proves difficult to identify nine of the panelists without a conflict of interest, D/MDC staff will select additional panelists.
This Final Panel will enter into a viewing and evaluation process similar to the first round of viewing by the Pre-Screening Panels: all will view and discuss the work sample and the nomination statement of the finalists in all categories. The Final Panel will decide on the award recipient in each category (with the exception of the Founder’s Award and Pola Nirenska Award).

• Outstanding Individual Performance
  An individual performer can be recognized for his or her performance of, or within, an evening length production as a company member or a soloist.
  
  
• Outstanding Group Performance
  A group or company can be recognized for its performance of, or within, an evening length production.
  
  
• Outstanding Youth Performance sponsored by The Sprenger Lang Foundation
  This award is for an outstanding youth soloist or group performance, for ages 18 and under.
  
  
• Outstanding New Work
  This award goes to a choreographer for his/her creation of an outstanding new work this season. The work can be a part of a showcase or mixed bill.
  
  
• Emerging Performer or Group
  The Emerging Performer or Group Award is for an artist or group who is gaining recognition for their performance. Groups may be professional or pre-professional, and are eligible for this award during their first five years of performance.
  
  
• Emerging Choreographer
  The Emerging Choreographer Award is for an artist who is gaining recognition for choreographic talent and work in the DC Metro area. The choreographer can be an established dancer but may be recognized in this category only for the first five years of his/her choreographic career.
  
  
• Excellence in Costume Design
  This award recognizes a costume designer who captures a choreographer's vision in a creative, innovative, and wearable way.
  
  
• Excellence in Lighting Design
  This award recognizes a lighting designer who uses theatrical lighting to illuminate a choreographer's vision.
  
  
• Excellence in Sound Design/Original Composition
  This award recognizes a composer who creates outstanding music or sound compositions for dance.
  
  
• Excellence in Stage Design/Multimedia
  This award recognizes a designer or videographer who creates an outstanding scenic environment in which dance is performed.
  
  
• Outstanding Overall Production – Small Venue
  The nominees in this category performed in venues with fewer than 400 seats, are chosen for original full evening productions this season, and include all dance genres. They are judged on the many elements involved in creating a dance production including production quality, programming choices, choreography, choice of collaborators, and technical and artistic expression of the dancers.
  
  
• Outstanding Overall Production – Large Venue
  The nominees in this category performed in venues with more than 400 seats, are chosen for original full evening productions this season, and include all dance genres. They are judged on the many elements involved in creating a dance production including production quality, programming choices, choreography, choice of collaborators, and technical and artistic expression of the dancers.
  
  
• Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education
  This award recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding ongoing contributions to the field of dance through educational efforts. These efforts may include academic or non-academic dance training, outreach programs, and/or performances for students and nontraditional audiences.
  
  
• Alan M. Kriegsman Award
  This award recognizes a person or organization for his/her ongoing artistic or community service to the DC/MD/VA region. Nominees can be school directors, artists who have made an impact on the field, persons or organizations that have supported the dance community, etc
  
  
• Founders Award for Innovation in Dance
  This award recognizes an individual or organization for breaking new ground, exploring new processes or approaches, or using existing knowledge in a new way during the Awards year. The 2007 award will be given by MDCDA Founder Cheles Rhynes, and future awards will be given by the prior year's winner, with final approval by the MDCDA Selection Committee. This award is not eligible for public nomination.
  
  

Marta Vizueta
A dynamic and engaging performer, instructor and choreographer in the DC area, Marta Vizueta is recognized for her elegance, technique and unique voice. She blends flamenco, modern Indian dance, and afro-Cuban dance in her contemporary fusion projects, while maintaining a firm grasp of Egyptian belly dance in more traditional works. She is the founder and former co-director of DCTribal, a regional network of Tribal and fusion belly dancers in the region.
www.moveyourbelly.com

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