DRESS DOWN Lyndsey Karr presents her work Fri 30.

Photograph: Sarah Holcman

How did you come up with the concept for your dance competition? What gap were you trying to fill?
I came back from the American Dance Festival in 2003, and I was kind of distraught because there were not a lot of things that I liked. More than that, I felt that it would be intensely interesting to try and create a space where artists could come and try out stuff. I started with Dance Conversations @ the Flea in 2003. I wanted to encourage community— not just, like, a hokey term, but to create a situation where work could be seen and a dialogue could take place.

And then you met Scott G. Kasen, who underwrites the $10,000 prize?
He came to the Flea, and he wrote an e-mail saying that he would like to contribute to modern dance, but in an unusual fashion. At first I thought someone was pulling my leg. He didn’t want to give to the obvious; he wanted to really support artists from the ground up. I still didn’t get it. But he was serious, so I took him to see a bunch of shows.

Did he ask you questions?
Oh, a lot! And he had a lot of comments, which I found really interesting and refreshing because he wasn’t biased or jaded. Finally he said, “Why don’t we do something where you empower the audience further?” At the Flea, the audience wrote comments, which was one of the best features of the series because it was uncensored. I realized very quickly that people were much more honest and kind of brutal when they were writing. I was not interested—and still am not—in just being brutal for the sake of being brutal, but I liked that the preciousness was being taken away. A real discussion could take place.

And Kasen had the idea to award a prize, which is based on an audience vote?
Yes. At first I thought that would really change the game because there would be really high stakes and people might not take chances. But then I thought about it more; he’s coming from a capitalist world and he’s offering money for this really malnourished field. Who am I to turn it down? We came up with a system: Each artist would get a certain amount of tickets so nobody could really buy the house. The moment that the tickets went on sale, they sold out. It means that this culture wants to see blood. But the structure of the A.W.A.R.D. Show! became like a work of art. And the way that an audience views a work when it is empowered to vote is extremely different.

They pay attention?
They absolutely do! It’s the most amazing thing.

I’ve always thought that the problem with dance doesn’t have to do with the choreographers or the work, but the reality that people aren’t used to paying attention. And you need to pay attention when you watch a dance.
Right. And the structure of the show forces them to pay attention and to come up with some way to give dance value, which is problematic because how can you give value to art? I would be the first one to say, “Who the hell cares?” But it brings up an enormously interesting question: Why do people need to feel empowered to be engaged while watching? In thinking about how to present work, it’s a neat experiment. Not that it elevates it. I really don’t believe that art should be rarefied. It should be as simple as breathing air.

The 2008 A.W.A.R.D. Show! is at the Joyce Soho Tue 20-Sat 31 (preliminary rounds) and Sun 1 (final event).