THE A.W.A.R.D. SHOW! is a dance competition, founded in New York and now taking place in cities nationwide, that asks audiences to determine which competing contemporary dance company will ultimately receive a $10,000 grant. (So... like American Idol, but fancy.)

The Seattle installment of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! featured the work of 12 choreographers over three nights. The winner was crowned on Sunday, January 30, and it turns out that the best performance in Seattle last weekend was... from Portland. First place (and 10 grand!) went to the locals in tEEth, a company that reliably produces emotionally gripping, provocative work.

"Going into the competition, we had no expectations... we tried to remain open to the experience and the outcome," tEEth Co-Artistic Director Angelle Hebert explained in an email. "This process gave us the opportunity to perform in a prestigious, highly revered venue [On the Boards] while hopefully connecting with new audiences. Coming from Portland and only having a handful of folks in the audience there to support tEEth, we thought our chances were slim. When the announcement was made, we were surprised and of course, jumping for joy, totally ecstatic! It was a surreal, overwhelming moment."

If you missed its short run a couple months ago, tEEth will be performing an encore of their current show Home Made in April, before taking it on the road again to humble the locals in Austin and Salt Lake City.