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Dance Magazine Awards 2007.

Article Excerpt
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On November 5, Dance Magazine will (for the 50th time!) present its annual awards to dance artists who have made a major contribution to our field. This year's recipients are Desmond Richardson, Wendy Whelan, Bettie de Jong, and Bebe Neuwirth. Here we single out some of their extraordinary accomplishments. To get more information about this year's event, turn to page 41. For a roster of past honorees and video clips from last year's ceremony, visit www.dancemagazine.com.

Desmond Richardson

His sculpted body and dramatic presence are instantly identifiable. His rippling torso, grounded strength, and extreme extensions speak to his mastery of an array of dance forms. And yet, what comes through most of all is the expressiveness of every reach, every back arch, every leap. He seems to be speaking to each audience member personally. A performer of great strength, flexibility, and curiosity, Desmond Richardson is one of the most popular guest dancers worldwide today.

As a teenager Richardson attended the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and, at the same time, studied at The Alley School on scholarship. Alvin Ailey's mentorship shaped Richardson's career from his early days as a student. Richardson joined Alvin Alley American Dance Theater in 1987 and spent eight years dancing in works by Alley, Limon, and Elisa Monte among others. Ulysses Dove created an extremely demanding role in his sexually charged Episodes for the young dancer. Richardson won a Bessie Award in 1991 for his performance of John Butler's After Eden. When he left the Alley company, he worked briefly with William Forsythe at Ballett Frankfurt, and it was there that he broadened his contemporary vocabulary and improvisation ability.

In 1997 he became the first black principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, creating the title role in Lar Lubovitch's Othello. Other highlights of his time at ABT included his dancing in Nacho Duato's haunting Remanso and his foray into deliciously wicked roles such as Tybalt and Carabosse. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Swedish Opera Ballet, Washington Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and La Scala Ballet. His recent Beowulf stole the show in Julie Taymor's production of...

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