AXIS NEWS 
SFGATE Review
By Allan Ulrich, Chronicle Dance Correspondent
Monday, November 9, 2009
Axis Dance Company, which produced its annual season over the weekend at Oakland's Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts, continues to occupy its unique niche in the Bay Area arts scene and exceptional choreographers keep adding to the troupe's stature. Who, 20 years ago, believed that a dance troupe that integrated conventional dancers and dancers with disabilities could flourish on the basis of artistic merit alone?
Fortunately, an array of significant dancemakers have silenced us cynics. Friday's performance, given before a packed house, introduced a commission from David Dorfman, a semi-premiere from Remy Charlip and substantial revivals by Sonya Delwaide and Alex Ketley, a roster that could grace any respectable repertory company.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com
NY Times Article:
A Dance Company Mixes Arms, Legs and Wheels
By BRUCE WEBER
Published: November 1, 2009
The dancers of Axis Dance Company, four of whom are physically disabled and perform in wheelchairs, find new possibilities for movement where others might see limitations. read full article.
The Alameda County Arts Commission is pleased to announce –
8/12/09
And the 2009 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award goes to.... Judith Smith!
The 2009 Alameda County Arts Leadership Awards Program recipients have been selected. Twenty-two outstanding individuals were nominated for this year’s program. The Members of the Alameda County Arts Commission acknowledge all of the nominees for their commitment to enhancing the quality of life in Alameda County, providing leadership in the arts, and serving as a role model to others. Additionally, the Arts Commission would like to thank the citizens who submitted the nominations, thereby creating an opportunity for all of the nominees to be recognized for their important work.
Judith Smith receives the 2009 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award Recipients for being a Founding Member and Current Artistic Director of AXIS Dance Company, premiere dance company for dancers with and without physical disabilities. Through her leadership, AXIS Dance Company provided services to over 11,000 youth and adults in Alameda County through its education programs, Dance Access and Dance Access/Kids!
We congratulate Judith as well as the other recipients:
Susan L. Rose, James Petrillo, Debra Owen, Marion Coleman
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors commendation ceremony to recognize the Arts Leadership Award Recipients will take place during the Board’s public meeting on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. The meeting will begin at 10:30am and will end at approximately 12:00 noon. The event will take place at the Alameda County Administration Building, Board Chambers, 1221 Oak Street, 5th floor, Oakland. Friends and family members of the award recipients are welcome to attend.
AXIS wins Dance Media Editors Choice Award
7/1/09
AXIS was just informed that the video "To Color me Different" choreographed by Alex Ketley won the Dance Media Editors Choice Award for the month of June.
Oakland on Stage
06/29/09
AXIS is currently being featured as part of Oakland Onstage (May 1 – July 31, 2009) A collaboration between Oakland Museum and Oakland Airport.
Located in the connecting walkway between the two terminals is a small exhibit: Oakland Onstage informs the traveling public about the variety and diversity of the performance arts in Oakland. AXIS is one of the companies currently being represented.
For those who will be traveling out of Oakland International Airport, please take the time to look at the exhibit.
AXIS Best of the East Bay!
06/23/09 
Dance Troupe Reader Pick - Best Dance Troupe: AXIS Dance Company
First-time winner Axis Dance Company is no stranger to East Bay arts fans. Founded in 1987 and earning seven Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, Axis has been dazzling audiences with its unique mission of integrating dancers with disabilities. The artistry is stunning: a woman twirling, stretched horizontally on a tipped-over wheelchair; a man in a handstand on the back of an upright wheelchair; and lines and imagery that push the boundaries of contemporary dance. Axis is working with New York choreographer David Dorfman on a world-premiere piece to open in November.
1428 Alice St., Oakland, (510) 625-0110, axisdance.org. —L.J.
Diablo Magazine
AXIS wins two Isadora Duncan Dance Awards
03/23/09
The Envelope Please!
It’s awards season and AXIS Dance Company had a memorable night at the 23rd annual Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, which celebrates the diversity of Bay Area Dance. AXIS was nominated for Izzies in three categories for work from our 2007/2008 season—which happened to be our 20th Anniversary Season. We're thrilled that Rodney Bell and Sonsheree Giles received an award for Ensemble Performance of Alex Ketley's “To Color Me Different" and Joe Goode received an award for Choreography for his second work for AXIS "the beauty that was mine, through the middle, without stopping...". We consider our third nomination for Company Performance of "the beauty that was mine..." an honor and congratulate InkBoat for their award. InkBoat is a wonderful company whose Artistic Director, Shinichi Koga, will be working with AXIS on a new project in 2010 - aren't we lucky!
AXIS Dancers settle California lawsuit Smith v. Hotels.com L.P.
01/26/09
OAKLAND, Calif. – Under a settlement announced today, Hotels.com and Expedia.com, two of the world’s leading online travel companies, have agreed to add features to their online travel reservation systems so that millions of travelers with disabilities can use their online services to search for and reserve hotel rooms that have the accommodations they need.
Plaintiffs in the California lawsuit Smith v. Hotels.com L.P. were represented by the public interest law firms of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Public Justice, and a leading class action law firm in Mill Valley, Calif., Chavez & Gertler LLP. read more...
Two new artistic collaborations
01/15/09
AXIS has received prestigious grants for two new artistic collaborations, one in 2010 and one in 2011
AXIS will embark on two new artistic collaborations in 2010 that have received substantial support through prestigious and competitive local granting programs. The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation funds only six new dance compositions by leading California choreographers, created in collaboration with another California artist of their choice. AXIS collaboration with choreographer Shinichi Iova-Koga and Composer Joan Jeanrenaud has been selected to receive one of those six grants. Read more...
Additionally, The Creative Work Fund has announced its 2008 Grantees. AXIS’ collaboration with Eric Kupers/Dandelion Dance Theatre, which will premiere amongst BART stations throughout the Bay Area in 2011 was selected as one of the funded projects. Read more...
What people say about us
"I found the separation between dancers in wheelchairs and dancers not in chairs to almost completely dissolve as I watched these four powerful dancers ride what felt like a tornado or tidal wave through the space, raw and authentically engaging momentum and emotion and chaos." – Eric Kupers, Choreographer
“…the troupe proved alert and sensitive to the dancemakers’ demands, amazingly flexible and uncommonly committed to the task at hand. The best of the AXIS spirit was here, and it was thrilling to experience.” – Allan Ulrich, Voice of Dance
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