'Dreamlife' wins dream prize: $10,000 at 'The A.W.A.R.D. Show!'

Amelia Reeber won $10,000 on Sunday night in the final round of "The A.W.A.R.D. Show!" for her solo piece, "Dreamlife." The multimedia work mixed modern-dance moves with the vernacular of workaday life (shrugs, sighs, mimed household tasks) as Reeber reacted to a soundtrack drawn in part from HGTV, the home-improvement channel, and in part from an electronic score by Jeffrey Huston that potently suggested the solitude and disorientation that can spur the search for a dream home. Toyed with by Huston's sound and Amiya Brown's atmospheric lighting, Reeber delivered a performance both comical and haunting.

"The A.W.A.R.D. Show!" is copresented by On the Boards and New York's Joyce Theater, with funding from The Boeing Company. The two other finalists were Catherine Cabeen for her solo work, "Segments," and Deborah Wolf for "The Hipdeep Family," her comic spoof on Edward Gorey rhymes set to music by the Tiger Lillies and Kronos Quartet. They win $1,000 apiece.

The preliminary judging was done by audiences on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, while Sunday's finalists were judged by a panel of dance professionals consisting of Linda Shelton (Joyce Theater), Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance Theater), Dayna Hanson (33 Fainting Spells) and Kara O'Toole (Velocity Dance Center). Sunday's audience vote counted as one panel vote.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com