For the 58th annual Dance Magazine Awards, the awardees represented a good mix of genres. Amy Cogan (Senior Vice President, Publisher, DanceMedia) with Jennifer Stahl (Editor in Chief Dance Magazine) opened and introduced the always candid and smart host for the evening, Wendy Perron, Editor at Large, Dance Magazine. First up was Mikhail Baryshnikov presenting to former ballerina and current artistic director of National Ballet of Canada, Karen Kain. Martín Santangelo presented the first ever flamenco Dance Magazine award to his wife Soledad Barrio who accepted after a breathtaking performance followed by a standing ovation of Solea. After a lovely Pas de deux from AfterEffect by Marcelo Gomes, danced by Cassandra Trenary and Thomas Forester (of American Ballet Theatre), Julie Kent presented to American Ballet Theatre principal and up-and-coming choreographer, Gomes. Nothing beats a heart-warming story of how anyone comes to dance, and Valda Setterfield told one of how dance archivist, writer and historian David Vaughn brought her to dance. Finally, after an awesomely danced excerpt of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Samantha Spies’ premiere, Walking With ‘Trane: Side, Freed(om) by Du’Bois A’Keen, Amanda Castro, Courtney J. Cook, Chanon Judson, Tendayi Kuumba, Stephanie Mas, and Love Muwwakkil (understudy), Millicent Johnnie presented the final award to Zollar, founding artistic director of Urban Bush Women.
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