In an annual tradition at SF Classical Voice, we once again asked you, the readers, to sound off about this past season’s best performers and performances. As always, the Audience Choice Awards were completely reader-driven — you nominated the finalists, and you voted for the winners. This year’s response in Los Angeles was very heartening. With thousands of votes submitted, you proved there is an engaged and passionate audience that is just as interested in smaller groups and emerging talent as in big stars.

Plenty of categories came down to just a few votes, and the winners and nominees definitely reflect the diversity of programming and voices available in the Southland. We hope that the results of this year’s poll encourages even more risk-taking in upcoming seasons, as L.A. continues to show why a vibrant arts scene is indispensable to a great city.

Finally! In Audience Choice Awards past, Oguri has routinely come in a close second in this category, but the performer and choreographer can claim victory this year. The artistic director of Body Weather Laboratory and a staple of the L.A. dance scene since 1991, he narrowly beat out Bobbi Jene Smith and Tetyana Martyanova to clinch a well-deserved first place.

In its July performances at The Music Center, Frida, with choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and music by Peter Salem, impressed audiences with its portrait of Mexican painter and feminist icon Frida Kahlo. The beautifully designed production convinced our readers to put it in the winner’s circle, over runner-up Blue 13 Dance Company at The Wallis.