This past weekend was a busy one for us at DT—we’ve been in Long Beach, California, attending our Dance Teacher Summit, which included honoring our DT Award winners Award winners (best acceptance speech of the decade goes, hands down, to the fabulous Joe Tremaine) and the Capezio A.C.E. Award champions on Saturday night. It was a big evening: The overall winner of the A.C.E. Awards goes home with $15,000 to use towards the production of a future show. Here’s who scored the top three spots:

2nd runner-up:

Nick Young’s tap number, The Light, was ostensibly a boy-meets-girl, boy-and-girl-squander-opportunities-to-secure-their-future story, but Young’s insane rhythms and gift for storytelling are both perpetually surprising and nuanced. He’s proof that tap can be just as emotive and powerful as contemporary, end of discussion.

First runner-up:

Lukas McFarlane’s Falling was full of movement so hard-hitting that I kept waiting to see a visible reverb in the atmosphere. McFarlane and his dancers spilled their guts all over the stage, marrying incredible, inventive partnering with real, palpable passion.

And the 2017 A.C.E. Award champions:

But it was Marissa Osato and Will Johnston’s electric, ominous Peel that took home the grand prize. The dancers’ athleticism and control were mind-blowing—at one point, they balanced forearm planks on tiny, clear bowls. And they had some serious slo-mo ability. (You can watch an earlier iteration of the piece by clicking here.)

Big congrats to all of the finalists—and to this year’s winners, we’re so excited to see what you do with your prize money!

Check out more finalists below:

Here’s Erica Marr’s piece: