THE BESSIES ANNOUNCE RECIPIENTS OF 2024 & 2025 NEW YORK DANCE AND PERFORMANCE AWARDS

New York, NY (January 20, 2026) – The New York Dance and Performance Awards, the Bessies, tonight announced the 2024 and 2025 award recipients at the 41st Bessie Awards Ceremony. Nicky Paraiso and Patricia Hoffbauer hosted this year’s celebratory event, which was held at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, New York. NY 10002. A complete list of the 2024 and 2025 awards follows below.

Bessie Awards were presented to artists for outstanding choreographer/creator, performer, sound design or music composition, visual design, outstanding revival, and breakout choreographer—an award that honors an artist who has made an exceptional leap in their career in this last couple of years.

Music composer and performer, Jonathan Howard Katz, presented his own composition -Ipseities: No. 4 (2020) and Ipseities: No. 24 (2021).

The 2024 & 2025 Bessie Awards Ceremony was co-produced by Sangeeta Ghosh Yesley and Charles Vincent Burwell.

During the 2024 and 2025 award cycles, The Bessies underwent significant organizational restructuring while facing funding limitations. As a result, honoraria were not issued to award recipients in these 2 years. We extend our sincere appreciation to all honorees for their artistry, generosity of spirit, and understanding as the organization works toward long-term sustainability.

THE 2024 NEW YORK DANCE AND PERFORMANCE AWARD RECIPIENTS AND CITATIONS:

2024 Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award

Dyane Harvey-Salaam

For a lifetime of extraordinary rituals melding dance, theatre, and the profound embodiment of an artist’s way of being. Her presence is a lighthouse, guiding artists toward refuge, courage, and inspiration. As the devoted holder and répétiteur of Eleo Pomare’s work, she safeguards what came before while illuminating what is still possible. Through unwavering generosity and resolve, she teaches us the endless power of persistence and the art of never giving up.

Beyond the studio, her impact radiates through quiet, consistent leadership mentoring artists toward their own authority, sharpening their craft while protecting their spirit. She holds space for complexity and keeps the path lit when the road is uncertain, reminding us that endurance is not an accident but a practice. In honoring her, we honor a lifetime of disciplined care, the rare artist who preserves the past without freezing it, and who insists, again and again, that what is possible is still unfolding.

Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance Award

Ballet Tech

Ballet Tech is a cornerstone of American dance education, dedicated to training the next generation of dancers by instilling the skill, discipline, and artistic passion required to excel in this demanding art form. In doing so, it not only preserves the tradition of ballet but actively advances its relevance in today’s world. As the only public school in the United States devoted exclusively to Dance, Ballet Tech uniquely combines high-quality academic education with intensive dance training through a tuition-free collaboration between the New York City Department of Education and the Ballet Tech Foundation.

Serving students in grades 4 through 8 at its home at 890 Broadway, Ballet Tech has, since 1978, auditioned 900,000 public school children and enrolled 25,430 students, dramatically expanding access to excellence for young people from all backgrounds—many of whom would otherwise never have the opportunity to study dance. Its impact extends far beyond technique and performance. Ballet Tech creates a vibrant, deeply connected community where the shared experience of learning and performing builds lasting bonds among students, teachers, and families, offering connection and continuity in an increasingly fast-paced and disconnected world.

That sense of community reaches well beyond its classrooms, through collaborations with choreographers, dancers, and arts organizations that generate interdisciplinary work and enrich the broader cultural landscape. Ballet Tech’s alumni have gone on to perform with leading companies including Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, The Jose Limon Dance Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and on Broadway, and to pursue higher education at institutions such as Juilliard, NYU, Brown, Columbia, and Yale.

Today, as we celebrate 47 years of achievement and honor Ballet Tech with the 2024 New York Dance and Performance Awards—The Bessies Award for Service to the Field, we recognize an institution whose commitment to excellence, inclusivity, access, and community has profoundly shaped the lives of its students and strengthened the future of dance. Under the leadership of Principal Veronica York and Artistic Director Dionne Figgins, Ballet Tech stands as a model of what public education and professional arts training can achieve together, and why its mission continues to deserve our collective support and recognition.

Outstanding Visual Design

Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung, Andrew Jordan
for JEUX + A CHILD’S TALE, Christopher Williams/
Baryshnikov Arts Center
Their costumes captivate and narrate, honoring Ballets Russes innovation while powerfully advancing story, character, and atmosphere.

Outstanding Sound Design or Musical Composition

yuniya edi kwon, Haruko Crow Nishimura, Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble
for Boy mother/faceless bloom, Juni One Set
New York Live Arts

yuniya edi kwon is a visionary dancer, vocalist, and musician whose interdisciplinary work Boy mother/faceless bloom is both immersive and transformative. In collaboration with Senga Nengudi, the work weaves mythology, autobiography, ritual, and stunning duet performance into an expansive, otherworldly experience.

Outstanding Revival

The Rite of Spring (1975)
Pina Bausch; Restaged by Josephine Ann Endicott, Jorge Puerta Armenta and Clémentine Deluy and a specially assembled company of 34 dancers from 14 African countries for The Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables & Sadler’s Wells
Park Avenue Armory

Thirty-Four dancers from across the African continent—many without prior contemporary dance training—brought living, soulful movement to Stravinsky’s score, filling the space with breath, presence, and ferocity. Guided with exceptional care by artists who worked intimately with Bausch, the performance honored the choreography’s rigor while igniting it anew. From the elemental staging and soil-covered floor to the power of Black bodies in motion, this revival was riveting, masterful, and unforgettable.

Outstanding Performer

Abdiel
at Fort Greene Park
Abdiel is a masterful, culturally aware performer who, in an unexpected Brooklyn cypher under rain and heat, danced Latin Hustle at Fort Green Park with full presence, creating a show simply by doing what they love.

Paul Hamilton
for CEREMONIA, Antonio Ramos
at Abrons Arts Center

For CEREMONIA, Antonio Ramos at Abrons Arts Center Bold and nuanced, his performance celebrates the body, movement, and expression, leaving a vibrant imprint lingering in one’s memory.

Edisa Weeks
for 3 Rites: Liberty, DELIRIOUS Dances
at Mark O’Donnell Theater

For 3 Rites: Liberty, Edisa Weeks, DELIRIOUS Dances at Mark O’Donnell Theater For a work that combined rigorous intellectual, emotional, and corporeal demands with humor and deep engagement, featuring unforgettable imagery—such as the performer tethered to evocative objects by her hair—masterful facilitation, excellent visual design, and the communal roots embedded in the backdrop, creating an extraordinary and lasting impact.

The Rite of Spring – Ensemble
at Park Avenue Armory

For filling the space with breath, presence, and ferocity. Guided with exceptional care by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo and restaged by Josephine Ann Endicott, Jorge Puerta Armenta and Clémentine Deluy, the performance honored Pina Bausch’s choreography with rigor while igniting it anew. From the elemental staging and soil-covered floor to the power of Black bodies in motion, this revival was riveting, masterful, and unforgettable.

Cast: Aoufice Junior Gouri, Amadou Lamine Sow, Amy Collé Seck, Aníque Ayiboe, Anthony Lomuljo, Astou Diop (Tousa), Aziz Zoundi, Babacar Mané, Bazoumana Kouyaté, Brian Otieno Oloo, Carmelita Siwa, Didja Kady Tiemanta, Estelle Foli, Florent Nikiema, Franne Christie Dossou, Gloria Ugwarelojo Biachi, Gueassa Eva Sibi, Harivola Rakotondrasoa, Inas Dasylva, Khadija Cisse, Luciény Kaabral, Oliva Randrianasolo (Nanie), Pacôme Landry Seka, Profit Lucky, Rodolphe Allui, Rokhaya Coulibaly, Sahadatou Ami Touré, Serge Arthur Dodo, Shelly Ohene-Nyako, Sonia Zandile Constable, Stéphanie Mwamba, Tom Jules Samie, Vasco Pedro Mirine, Zadi Landry Kipre.

Outstanding Breakout Choreographer

Baye & Asa

Childhood friends since first grade have become a powerful duo. They move with certainty, aware of who they are and how the world has seen them. Once they start dancing, powerful, playful, bold, and jarring; their genuine presence makes their movement deeply relatable. Their work is rooted in trust, nourished by a long history of connection. Bursting with ideas, their artistry is in full bloom, emerging as groundbreaking choreographers.

Outstanding Choreographer/Creator

Hyejin Jeong, Sung Hoon Kim, Jaeduk Kim
for One Dance at David H. Koch Theater
at Lincoln Center

For One Dance at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center For a visually mesmerizing, contemporary reinterpretation of ceremonial Korean traditional dance demonstrating a perfect balance between stillness and movement, and culminating in an explosive, athletic, contemporary dance. For a show that takes you on a journey, and leaves you feeling light-hearted and elated.

Nia Love
for UNDERcurrents
at Harlem Stage

For a transporting experience, taking the audience through an immersive and sensory journey of live performance and projected visuals. Historical research and personal memories are woven together to pose questions to the audience- with urgency and compassion.

Shamel Pitts
for Touch of RED
at New York Live Arts

Shamel Pitts crafts a viscerally charged work where physical rigor meets emotional intimacy. Touch of RED at New York Live Arts explores vulnerability and connection through hypnotic, rhythm-driven movement that fuses boxing footwork, Lindy Hop, and club culture, transforming confrontation into a shared, communal experience.

Wanjiru Kamuyu
for A Disguised Welcome…aka An Immigrant’s Story
at The Chocolate Factory Theater

For A Disguised Welcome… aka An Immigrant’s Story at The Chocolate Factory Theater A perfect solo: a powerful singular presence transforms a deeply personal narrative into a universal experience. Through her bold physicality, storytelling, and the simple use of upside-down chairs, she invites intimacy and connection. The work explores displacement and belonging, which anyone could experience, with vulnerability, strength, and profound emotional resonance.

THE 2025 NEW YORK DANCE AND PERFORMANCE AWARD RECIPIENTS AND CITATIONS:

2025 Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award

Garth Fagan

The generator of a thrillingly distinctive choreographic style, Garth Fagan’s artistry manifests humanity. His technique threads jazz’s polyrhythms through the specificities of Afro-Caribbean, modern dance and ballet forms. Founding a world class dance company — Garth Fagan Dance in Rochester, NY — Fagan mined the native talent forming an ensemble of incomparably kinetic dancers. Able to suspend themselves in eternal balances and levitate without preparation, the elite dancers reveal the intricacy of Fagan’s mind, ultimately inspiring him for over 5 1/2 decades. Fagan’s choreography astonishes audiences from the groundbreaking Griot NY created in collaboration with Wynton Marsalis, to Julie Taymor’s “Lion King,” ballets for Dance Theater of Harlem, NYC Ballet and countless concert halls all over the world. Garth Fagan is a man of uncompromising values and artistic integrity.

Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance Award

Gibney Dance

Gibney Dance is recognized for its long-standing commitment to providing essential infrastructure, resources, and leadership in support of artists and the broader dance field. Through its consistent dedication to access, equity, and artist well-being, Gibney has strengthened the conditions necessary for creative practice, dialogue, and exchange.

In the tradition of the BESSIE Awards, which acknowledge not only artistic excellence but lasting contribution to the field, Gibney Dance exemplifies service rooted in responsibility, care, and continuity. Its work has supported generations of artists and institutions, contributing to a more resilient and inclusive dance ecosystem.

Outstanding Visual Design

Clifton Taylor
for Many Angels for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
at New York City Center

An emissary of light and shadow, commanding color with rare authority. Luminous and precise, a world built for dancers to inhabit, and for audiences to remember. Your transcendent manipulation of photons lets us see things as they could be, inviting us to bask in a warm embrace in Lar Lubovitch’s Many Angels for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at City Center.

Outstanding Sound Design or Musical Composition

Angie Pittman, Cody Jensen 
for Black Life Chord Changes at Out-Front! Festival
at BAM Fisher Hillman Studio

A rigorous, transporting aural world that holds the audience with care while carving a brave space for Black Life Chord Changes at the Pioneers Go East Collective’s Out Front! Festival at BAM.

Outstanding Revival
Grace (1999)
Ronald K. Brown
for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
at New York City Center

For a work that returns not as nostalgia but as necessity, Ronald K. Brown’s Grace revives the stage as a site of deliverance where modern dance and West African lineage braid into a communal ritual of radiance, mercy, and forward motion. Performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, this collective prayer is precise, ecstatic, and fiercely human, carrying dancers through joy, struggle, and release with undiminished power and heightened relevance.

Outstanding Performer

Jacquelin Harris
for Many Angels, Lar Lubovitch for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
at New York City Center

With quiet authority and crystal-clear intention, she honored the continuing legacy of Ailey’s leading women bringing celestial clarity to the terrestrial stage in Lar Lubovitch’s Many Angels for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center.

Cast of CATS: The Jellicle Ball
at Perelman Performing Arts Center

For a felicitous requiem of movement and motivation serving the body politic with prrr prrr vibes and regimented performances juxtaposed with unmatched fabulosity in Cats: The Jellicle Ball at PAC NYC. Where disciplined bodies in radiant revolt, make community look inevitable.

Cast: André De Shields, Baby Byrne, Bebe Nicole Simpson, Bryce Farris, Capital Kaos, Dava Huesca, Dudney Joseph Jr., Emma Sofia, Garnet Williams, Ivy Mugler, Jenny Mollet, Jonathan Burke, Jovan E’Sean, Junior LaBeija, Kai B. White, Kendall Grayson Stroud, Nora Schell, Phumzile Sojola, Primo, Robert “Silk” Mason, Rodrick Covington, Sydney James Harcourt, Tara Lashan Clinkscales, Teddy Wilson Jr., “Tempress” Chasity Moore, Xavier Reyes, Zachary A. Myers.

Jake Roxander
for Onegin for American Ballet Theatre at Metropolitan Opera House
at Lincoln Center

Dancing measured, controlled, and alive with meaning pulling us into Lensky’s inner life with his performance of John Cranko’s Onegin, performed by American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House. With unmistakable urgency and musical intelligence, he met each moment with care and courage.

House of Juicy + House of Telfar,Performance as a House,
Draw inspiration from one of Alvin Ailey’s iconic dance pieces
at The Whitney Museum

A sermon of movement that honored Ballroom Culture, Modern Dance, and new futures in mo-tion, carrying forward the stories of the marginalized, and those who live unapologetically at the Whitney Museum for the Ailey Ball.

House of Juicy Couture – Alexis Wan, Jayden Benbow, Tyreel Simpson, Baby Byrne, Mateo Roska, Nicholas Sterling, Shaquill Blanding, Veyonce Deleon, Tyrone Reese.

House of Telfar – Dava Huesca, Bryce Farris, Omarion Burke, Xavier Villafañe, Travon Williams, Myles Porter.

Outstanding Breakout Choreographer

Amy Hall Garner

With her deep Southern lineage, muscular musicality and verve, she spins bodies into bonfires of joy, perseverance, and familial warmth at the core. Through bold commissions across the dance community, she proves how invention and imagination cultivates form.

Outstanding Choreographer/Creator

Fredrick Earl Mosley
for Unleashed
at Ailey Citigroup Theater

For his enduring commitment to creating dance works and performances, and for fostering cross-generational mentorship and meaningful community through his Hearts of Men series—expanding visibility, possibility, and legacy within the field.

Lar Lubovitch
for Many Angels
at City Center December

For a choreography steeped in yūgen the quiet, inexhaustible depth of what can only be suggested, this work turns an old paradox (“how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”) into a living mystery. With restraint as virtuosity, Lar Lubovitch’s Many Angels performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center makes the smallest space feel infinite, letting absence, silence, and precision summon the unseen.

Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons
for CATS: The Jellicle Ball
at Perelman Performing Arts Center

For an unmatched synthesis of Ballroom Culture and Musical-Theater mayhem, storytelling included, Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles conjure a new way of being in CATS: The Jellicle Ball at PAC NYC. With feline personas as their runway mythology, they blend soft and dramatic vogue with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score, whipping and dipping it into an unlikely, irresistible potion.

Yoko Murakami
for Blink
at Triskelion Arts

For an imaginative and exquisite use of movement and visuals that draws viewers into another dimension, exploring the body’s existence through light, shadow, and the manipulation of perception—inviting us into a dreamlike state where time and space blend.

ABOUT THE BESSIES

The New York Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 39 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize choreography, performance, music composition,  visual design, legacy, and service to the field of dance by independent dance artists and organizations. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee composed of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. All those working in the dance field are invited to join the Bessies Membership and participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the selection committee. For more information about The Bessies, visit www.bessies.org.

The 2023–2024 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Porshia A. Derival, Gregory English, Hannah Garner, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Anabella Lenzu, Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, Shalewa Mackall, zavé martohardjono, Yoko Murakami,, David Persky, Lynn Schwab, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Ivan Talijančić, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, and Nami Yamamoto.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2023-2024): Paz Tanjuaquio (chair), Yvonne H. Chow, Stanford Makishi, maura nguyễn donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

The 2024–2025 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Gregory English, Jens Richard Giersdorf, Kyla Gordon, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Raelle Myrick Hodges, Suzzanne Ponomarenko, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, Nami Yamamoto, and Sangeeta Ghosh Yesley.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2024-2025): Stanford Makishi, maura nguyen donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

Press contact: Audrey Ross, 929.222.3973, Email: audreyrosspub@aol.com

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, X, and Instagram: #theBessies / @bessieawards

2025:
GARTH FAGAN TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE AND GIBNEY DANCE TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, are delighted to announce that Dyane Harvey-Salaam, will receive the 2024 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance and Garth Fagan will receive the 2025 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance.  Ballet Tech will receive the award for the 2024 Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance and Gibney Dance will receive the award for the 2025 Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance.  Both awards for each year will be presented at the 41st Bessie Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m., at Dixon Place Theater, 161A Chrystie Street, NY 10002. Admission is free. Please register here: https://dixonplace.org/performances/41st-annual-bessies-announcement-1-20-2026/

2024
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

Dyane Harvey-Salaam is an accomplished performing artist, BESSIE award nominee (2019) and winner (2017), dance educator, choreographer, certified Pilates instructor, and board member of the American Dance Guild. Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother and Grandmother, she has performed as a principal soloist with many recognized dance companies and is a founding member and assistant to director Abdel R. Salaam, of The Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company and wishes to acknowledge with deep gratitude this long relationship.

Having appeared nationally and internationally with concert dance companies including: The Eleo Pomare Dance Company, Joan Miller’s Dance Players, Chuck Davis Dance Company, Walter Nicks Dance Company, Otis Sallid’s New Art Ensemble, George Faison’s Universal Dance Experience, Dance Brazil, and The Repertory Dance Theatre of Trinidad and Tobago, she knows that the values instilled while dancing with these companies have prepared her for a richly satisfying life.

She has served as guest artist in Sydnie L. Mosely’s Purple, A Ritual In 9 Spells, first produced for Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre, DancePlace in Washington, D.C., other iterations of the “Purple Universe” include a residency at Penn State University and most recently in collaboration with Dr.Kim Hall’s exquisite quilt exhibit at the Milstein Library, Barnard College.
Commercial appearances include The Wiz (original Broadway and film) Timbuktu!, Spell #7, Your Arms Too Short ToBox With God (Paris Company) Ailey Celebrates Ellington (CBS Special) Free To Dance (Forces of Nature Dance Theatre-PBS Special)
Her choreography for Black Theatre companies has earned AUDELCO Awards: Oya the Dance Drama, and Great Men of Gospel, and The United Solo and Broadway Berkshire Awards for Becoming Othello a Black Girl’s Journey. Other awards include: Abundance Arts Keeper of the Flame Award, the Asase Yaa Foundational Legacy Award, A.I.R. Living Legends Award (Miami Dade Community College), Distinguished Woman Award (Harlem Arts Alliance and Harlem Chamber of Commerce), and the ModArts Legacy Award.

Aspects of her life have been recorded for the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library Jerome Robbins Dance Division, Oral History Project, and she participated in The Dance Historian Is In, a video presentation in which her major career achievements were highlighted. Along with dance colleagues, she assisted in the curation of two The Dance Historian Is In segments celebrating the lives of her mentor Eleo Pomare and Joan Miller, as well as a special evening honoring the lifework of Talley Beatty.

Her published article, “Making Movement as an Act of Listening, Riding With the Muse” was included in the CLAJ Special Edition dedicated to the legacy of collaborator, Ntozake Shange. Additional literary offerings include a chapter in the book edited by Reverend Melody McGant, Good is Powerful , entitled “The Goodness of SweetHoney” and for the Dance Enthusiast, “Impressions:DanceAfrica 2025, Movement! Magic! Manifestation!”

An educator, she continues to teach and design courses at both Princeton and Hofstra Universities, where she shares her philosophy about the dance of life itself.

Ase’ to all who have come before!

2024
OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE

Ballet Tech, founded in 1974 by choreographer Eliot Feld, is a pioneering New York City dance institution dedicated to cultivating the next generation of ballet artists through unparalleled access, opportunity, and training. Formally known as the New York City Public School for Dance, Ballet Tech has built a national reputation for its innovative approach to classical ballet education, combining rigorous training with equity, inclusion, and a deep commitment to nurturing young dancers from all backgrounds.

At the heart of Ballet Tech is its groundbreaking audition program, which brings ballet directly into NYC public schools, offering thousands of children the opportunity to discover their talent for dance at no cost. Students who show promise are invited to train at Ballet Tech’s state-of-the-art studios, where they receive exceptional technique classes, artistic mentorship, and academic support designed to help them thrive both as dancers and individuals.

In 2021, Dionne Figgins, a celebrated American ballerina, Broadway performer, and arts leader, was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet Tech. Her appointment marks a new chapter in the institution’s evolution, bringing a powerful vision centered on excellence, diversity, and expanded visibility for young dancers. Figgins’ leadership builds on Eliot Feld’s legacy while guiding the school toward a more dynamic, contemporary, and culturally responsive future.

Known for its annual Kids Dance performances at The Joyce Theater, Ballet Tech continues to inspire audiences and empower students through joyful, high-caliber performances. With its unique fusion of artistry, education, and accessibility, Ballet Tech remains one of New York City’s most impactful and enduring dance institutions.

2025
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

Garth Fagan is the visionary founder and Artistic Director of Garth Fagan Dance and one of the most influential choreographers of his generation. Born in Jamaica and based in the United States since the 1960s, Fagan has developed a groundbreaking movement language that blends modern dance, ballet, Afro-Caribbean traditions, and postmodern experimentation. His technique—celebrated for its polyrhythmic complexity, strength, and emotional depth—has shaped generations of dancers and established him as a master craftsman of the form.

Fagan’s choreography has been commissioned by major companies worldwide, including the Dance Theatre of Harlem, for whom he created the critically acclaimed Footprints Dressed in Red, a work praised for its bold musicality, cultural resonance, and unique movement invention. His expansive body of work also includes The Dispossessed, Griot New York, Prelude: Discipline is Freedom, and the landmark Broadway production of Disney’s The Lion King, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Throughout his career, Fagan has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Bessie Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, NYC Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, and the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) from the Jamaican government. His company, founded in 1970 in Rochester, New York, remains a cornerstone of American contemporary dance.

With a career spanning more than five decades, Garth Fagan continues to inspire audiences with choreography that is both technically profound and deeply human, solidifying his legacy as a transformative force in the world of dance.

2025
OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE

Gibney is one of New York City’s most influential and progressive arts institutions, recognized internationally for its unique integration of contemporary dance, social action, and community engagement. Founded in 1991 by choreographer Gina Gibney, the organization has grown from a small dance company into a multi-faceted cultural hub with two Manhattan locations—Gibney 280 Broadway and Gibney 890 Broadway—together offering some of the largest and most vibrant studio spaces for training, creation, and performance in the city.

At its core, Gibney champions artistic innovation through its resident company, presenting programs, and extensive artist support initiatives, including residencies, commissions, subsidized studio rental, and professional development resources. Its performance series brings forward emerging and established artists, fostering a diverse range of voices and perspectives in contemporary dance.

Gibney is nationally recognized for its groundbreaking Community Action program, which uses movement workshops to support survivors of gender-based violence. Through partnerships with social service organizations, the program provides tools for self-expression, healing, and empowerment, exemplifying Gibney’s belief in dance as a vehicle for social change.

A leader in arts advocacy, Gibney also supports the professional dance field through the Dance Mobility Initiative, training programs, and a commitment to equitable practices, accessibility, and artist-centered values. The institution regularly collaborates with local and international organizations, strengthening its role as a connector within the global dance community.

With its blend of artistic excellence, community engagement, and forward-thinking leadership, Gibney stands as a transformative force in New York City’s cultural landscape and a model for how the arts can drive meaningful social impact.

A list of the 2024 & 2025 Bessie nominees can be found at 2024 Bessie Nominees & 2025 Bessie Nominees.

EVENT DETAILS

The 41st Bessie Awards Event
Tuesday, January 20, 7 p.m.
Dixon Place Theater,
161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10003.
Location link.

FREE ADMISSION (with live streaming option). Click Here.

ABOUT THE BESSIES

The New York Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 41 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize choreography, performance, music composition, visual design, legacy, and service to the field of dance by independent dance artists and organizations. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee composed of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. For more information about The Bessies, visit www.bessies.org.

The 2023–2024 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Porshia A. Derival, Gregory English, Hannah Garner, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Anabella Lenzu, Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, Shalewa Mackall, zavé martohardjono, Yoko Murakami,, David Persky, Lynn Schwab, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Ivan Talijančić, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, and Nami Yamamoto.

The 2024–2025 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Gregory English, Jens Richard Giersdorf, Kyla Gordon, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Raelle Myrick Hodges, Suzzanne Ponomarenko, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, Nami Yamamoto, and Sangeeta Yesley.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2023-2024): Paz Tanjuaquio (chair), Yvonne H. Chow, Stanford Makishi, maura nguyễn donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2024-2025): Stanford Makishi, maura nguyen donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

Press contact:

Audrey Ross, (929.222.3973), Email: audreyrosspub@aol.com

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: #theBessies / @bessieawards

41ST ANNUAL BESSIE AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT EVENT  SET FOR JANUARY 20, AT
DIXON PLACE.

New York, NY (November 24, 2025) – The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, today announced the nominees for the 2024 & 2025 Bessie Awards. The Bessie Awards announcement will be held on Tuesday, January 20, at 7pm, at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, NY 10002.

Nominations are made by the Bessie Awards Selection Committee, an independent committee of dance industry professionals. Performances presented between April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 AND April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, were eligible for consideration. Award categories include Outstanding Choreographer/Creator, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Sound Design or Music Composition, Outstanding Visual Design, and Outstanding Breakout Choreographer. Additional awards are given for Lifetime Achievement, Service to the Field of Dance.

The Bessies continues its restructuring process, which began in 2024 with a focus on long-term sustainability and organizational growth. Guided by its inaugural Board of Directors, the Bessies is working toward establishing independent nonprofit status, strengthening its internal framework, and building partnerships that advance its mission to celebrate and support New York City’s diverse dance community.

Currently, the Bessies is on hiatus, and the viewing of dance works is temporarily paused as the organization focuses on completing this transition. The pause is expected to be lifted in the near future, as the Bessies prepares to resume its activities with renewed clarity, purpose, and sustainability.

THE 2024 BESSIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Outstanding Choreographer/Creator

Amanda Castro, Arielle Rosales, Brinda Guha
Can We Dance Here?
The Joyce Theater

Mai Le Ho
LayeRhythm:Rhythm Conductor
Nublu

Hyejin Jeong, Sung Hoon Kim, Jaeduk Kim
One Dance
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center

Chanon Judson and mame Diarra Speis of Urban Bush Women
Haint Blu
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Harlem, NYC

Wanjiru Kamuyu
A disguised welcome…” aka “An Immigrant’s Story
The Chocolate Factory Theater

nia love
UNDERcurrents
Harlem Stage

Kyle Marshall|
Onyx
The Joyce Theater

Sydnie L. Mosley, et al
PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells
Clark Theater at Lincoln Center

Koma Otake
You
Danspace Project

Shamel Pitts| TRIBE
Touch of RED
New York Live Arts

Annie Rigney
Get Up My Daughter
For Martha Graham Company
The Joyce Theater

Hofesh Shechter
Cave
For Martha Graham Company
The Joyce Theater

Outstanding Performer

LaTasha Barnes
SW!NG OUT, Caleb Teicher and their Braintrust
The Joyce Theater

Lena Engelstein
Deepe Darknesse, Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein
The Collapsable Hole

Tamisha Guy
Rain (1989), Bebe Miller/ A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
The Joyce Theater

Paul Hamilton
CEREMONIA, Antonio Ramos
Abrons Arts Center

Dyane Harvey
Purple: A Ritual In Nine Spells, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Clark Theater at Lincoln Center

Barrington Hinds
Curriculum II, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
New York Live Arts

Catherine Hurlin
Like Water for Chocolate, Christopher Wheeldon/American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center

Abdiel
Fort Greene Park

Edisa Weeks
3 Rites: Liberty, Edisa Weeks/DELIRIOUS Dances
Mark O’Donnell Theater

Ensemble
The Rite of Spring, Pina Bausch; restaged with a specially created ensemble of dancers from countries across Africa
Park Avenue Armory

Ensemble
Weathering, Faye Driscoll
New York Live Arts

Ensemble:The Missing Element
The Beatbox House
Works & Process at SummerStage in Marcus Garvey Park

Outstanding Revival

Big Apple Contest (1939)
Frankie Manning, restaged by Evita Arce, Latasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, Caleb Teicher, and Eyal Vilner as part of SW!NG OUT
The Joyce Theater

Castor & Pollux (1980)
Mark Morris
The Joyce Theater

Dance (1979)
Lucinda Childs
New York City Center

The Rite of Spring (1975)
Pina Bausch; Restaged by Josephine Ann Endicott, Jorge Puerta Armenta and Clémentine Deluy and a specially assembled company of 34 dancers from 14 African countries for The Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables & Sadler’s Wells
Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Sound Design or Musical Composition

Amanda Castro, Arielle Rosales, Brinda Guha, Ryan Stanbury, Okai Musik, AJ Jagannath
Can We Dance Here?, Soles of Duende
The Joyce Theater

yuniya edi kwon, and Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble
Boy mother/faceless bloom, Juni One Set (yuniya edi kwon, and Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble)
New York Live Arts

Okwui Okpokwasili, Peter Born, Will Johnson, Deah Love Harriott
adaku, part 1: the road opens, Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born
BAM Fisher

Eyal Vilner Big Band
SW!NG OUT!, Caleb Teicher and their Braintrust
The Joyce Theater

Outstanding Visual Design

Bob Crowley (sets), Natasha Katz (lights), and Luke Halls (projections)
Like Water For Chocolate, American Ballet Theater
Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center

Reid & Harriet Design and Andrew Jordan (costume)
JEUX + A CHILD’S TALE, Christopher Williams
Baryshnikov Arts Center

Janet Wong (video design) and Robert Wierzel (lighting design)
Curriculum II, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
New York Live Arts

Tuçe Yasak (installation and lighting design), Hao Bai (video design)
Whale Fall Oracle, mayfield brooks
Performance Space New York

Outstanding Breakout Choreographer

Baye & Asa
Fadi Khouri
Tiler Peck 
Ogemdi Ude   

THE 2025 BESSIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Outstanding Choreographer/Creator

Camille A. Brown
I am
The Joyce Theater

Rennie Harris
Jacob’s Ladder
For Dayton Contemporary Dance Company
The Joyce Theater

Akram Khan
GIGENIS
The Joyce Theater

Ralph Lemon and Darrell Jones
Low
MoMA PS 1

Lar Lubovitch
Many Angels
For Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center

Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles
CATS:“The Jellicle Ball”
Perelman Performing Arts Center

Dianne McIntyre
In the Same Tongue
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria Theater

Fredrick Earl Mosley
Unleashed
Ailey Citigroup Theater

Yoko Murakami
BLINK
Triskelion Arts

TweetBoogie
The TweetBoogie Experience
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture

Urban Bush Women
Scat! ..The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
Perelman Performing Arts Center

Waacking Community (Curated by Princess Lockeroo)
Fabulous Waacking Festival Winter Edition
Imperial Ballroom Dance Studio

Outstanding Performer

Khalia Campbell
High Life
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
The Joyce Theater

Shaquelle Charles
In The Same Tongue, Dianne McIntyre Group
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria Theater

Jeffrey Cirio/Yue Shi
Ein von Viel, Sabrina Matthews for Boston Ballet
New York City Center

Jacquelin Harris
Many Angels
Lar Lubovitch for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center

Demetia Hopkins
In The Same Tongue, Dianne McIntyre Group
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria Theater

Niall Jones
JohnsonJaxxxonJefferson, Niall Jones
Danspace Project

Joy-Marie Thompson
JOYBOY
Triskelion Arts

King Molasses
Untitled 8/2 (Live) – Kendrick Lamar, King Molasses
Bushwig

Jake Roxander
Onegin, John Cranko/American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center

Symara Sarai
I want it to rain inside, Symara Sarai
New York Live Arts

Cast of Cats
CATS:“The Jellicle Ball”, Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles
Perelman Performing Arts Center

House of Juicy + House of Telfar
Performance as a House, Draw inspiration from one of Alvin Ailey’s iconic dance pieces
The Whitney Museum

Outstanding Revival

Big Bertha (1970)
Paul Taylor American Dance Company
The Joyce Theater

Grace (1999)
Ron Brown
For Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center

Quartiers libres revisited (2012)
Nadia Beugré
New York Live Arts

Recuerdo de Campo Amor (1985)
Talley Beatty
For Ballet Hispanico
New York City Center

Outstanding Sound Design or Musical Composition

Justin Ellington (sound designer), Zane Mark (music supervisor)
I am, Camille A. Brown
The Joyce Theater

Angie Pittman (singing), Cody Jensen musical composition
Black Life Chord Changes, Angie Pittman
Out-Front! Festival at BAM Fisher Hillman Studio

Dave Price
GIGENIS, Akram Khan
The Joyce Theater

Mel Mercier (composer)
Begin Anywhere, John Scott
Irish Arts Center

Outstanding Visual Design

Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya
A Meal (Set, Film, Costume) for LEIMAY
Here Arts Center

Jill Sigman
Set Design
Re-Seeding (Encounter #4: The Seamstress), Jill Sigman
Out-FRONT! Festival at Judson Memorial Church

Clifton Taylor
Lighting
Many Angels for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center

Cao Yuxi (JAMES)
Set Design
Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful, Kyle Abraham
Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Breakout Choreographer

Wendell Gray II
Amy Hall Garner
Ishita Mili
Anh Vo

ABOUT THE BESSIES

The New York Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 41 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize choreography, performance, music composition, visual design, legacy, and service to the field of dance by independent dance artists and organizations. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee composed of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. For more information about The Bessies, visit www.bessies.org.

The 2023–2024 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Porshia A. Derival, Gregory English, Hannah Garner, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Anabella Lenzu, Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, Shalewa Mackall, zavé martohardjono, Yoko Murakami,, David Persky, Lynn Schwab, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Ivan Talijančić, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, and Nami Yamamoto.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2023-2024): Paz Tanjuaquio (chair), Yvonne H. Chow, Stanford Makishi, maura nguyễn donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

The 2024–2025 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Gregory English, Jens Richard Giersdorf, Kyla Gordon, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Raelle Myrick Hodges, Suzzanne Ponomarenko, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, Nami Yamamoto, and Sangeeta Yesley.

The Bessies Steering Committee (2024-2025): Stanford Makishi, maura nguyen donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

Press contact:

Audrey Ross, 929.222.3973, Email: audreyrosspub@aol.com

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, X, and Instagram: #theBessies / @bessieawards

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Contact: Michelle Tabnick, (646) 765-4773, michelle@michelletabnickpr.com

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, 

Announce Inaugural Board of Directors, 

Organizational Restructuring, and a 2024 Ceremony Pause

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies has announced restructuring the organization in 2024 with sustainability at the forefront. This year, for the first time, the Bessies will welcome an inaugural board of directors. Members of the board include Dave Archuletta, Aziza A. Bowser, Esq., and Charles Vincent Burwell. Together, they will work to pursue independent nonprofit status for the Awards, as well as expand fundraising practices within the organization. In addition to incorporating as a 501(c)3, the board plans to build partnerships with mission-aligned organizations in order to further its impact in the community.

“We are thrilled to be in this stage of development, that our work can continue long into the future. This is the right time, these are the right actions, and the right folks supporting the next phase of The Bessies,” said Heather Robles, Bessies Executive Director.

“This is a time of evolution for The Bessie Awards. As we build a sustainable future for the organization, we are excited to incorporate as a non-profit organization, and envision a restructuring that meets the needs of the community,” said Aziza A. Bowser, Esq., President of the Bessies Board of Directors.

To focus resources on fundraising and restructuring efforts, The Bessies will pause on holding in-person events in 2024. While the annual Bessie Awards Ceremony, Angel Party, and Press Conference will be paused, the award selection and nomination process will continue. Artists nominated for Bessies in 2024 will be announced publicly in 2025, alongside the 2025 Bessies nominated artists. The Bessies Selection Committee continues to attend performances and nominate artistic work happening in the five boroughs without interruption. 

The Bessies invites the community to attend virtual Roundtable Discussions to learn more about the restructuring and provide input for moving forward. Roundtables will take place on Thursday, September 12 from 5:30pm-6:30pm ET, Wednesday, September 18 from 6pm-7pm ET, and Thursday, September 19 from 5:30pm-6:30pm ET. To attend a Roundtable, email Bessies Associate Manager Dalia Engelberg at Dalia@bessies.org.

About The Bessies

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work by independent dance artists in NYC for 40 years. Known as “The Bessie” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize groundbreaking work in choreography, performance, music composition, visual design, legacy, and service to the field of dance.

A Selection Committee comprised of artists, presenters, producers, designers and writers choose nominees. All those working in the dance field are invited to join The Bessies Membership—members participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the Selection Committee. The mission of The Bessies is to recognize groundbreaking dance and performance work performed in New York City, to gather the city’s dance-making communities, and to advocate for New York dance nationally and internationally. For more information, visit bessies.org. 

The 2024-2025 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Tyler Ashley, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Yoshiko Chuma, Duke Dang, Gregory English, Kyla Gordon, Celia Ipiotis, William Isaac, Raelle Myrick Hodges, Suzzanne Ponomarenko, Rakia Seaborn, Alex Smith, Kate Thomas, Farren Wood, Nami Yamamoto, and Sangeeta Yesley.

The Bessies Steering Committee: Stanford Makishi, maura nguyễn donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emílio sanchez, and Charmaine Warren.

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: #TheBessies / @bessieawards

#

NAI-NI CHEN TO BE HONORED WITH 2022 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

CHRISTINE JOWERS TO RECEIVE SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE AWARD

 New York, NY (September 20, 2022) – The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, today announced the nominees for the 2022 Bessie Awards at a virtual press conference hosted by Gibney. The Bessies also announced that renowned choreographer and dancer Nai-Ni Chen will be posthumously honored with the 2022 award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. Christine Jowers, founding editor of the online publication The Dance Enthusiast, will receive the 2022 Service to the Field of Dance Award. (The list of nominations follows below.)

The organization will host a Bessie Awards Reception on Friday, December 16, 2022. Produced by H+ | TOTEM Productions, this fundraising reception will be held at Chelsea Factory, 547 West 26th Street, in Manhattan, and will also be streamed live. Tickets for the in-person event will start at $38 to commemorate the 38th year, available at limited capacity. Tickets for the livestream will be available by donation. Tickets will be available beginning November 1.

Nominations are made by the Bessie Awards Selection Committee, an independent committee of approximately 20 dance industry professionals. Works presented between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022 were eligible for consideration. Award categories include Outstanding Choreographer/ Creator, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Sound Design or Music Composition, and Outstanding Visual Design.

Bessies Executive Director Heather Robles said: “Artists are vital to the health of our society. We honor their process, labor, creative dedication, and service with this year’s nominations.”

About the Honorees

Nai-Ni Chen (1958–2021) was a unique artist whose work crossed many cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflected her personal vision as an immigrant and as an American female artist with deep roots in Asian culture. From this perspective, she created dances that reflected current issues with global influences. Many of her works were developed in collaboration with renowned artists in different disciplines and cultures. Musical collaborators included the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, Kenji Bunch, Huang Ruo, Jason Kao Hwang, Tao Chen, Tan Dun, Gerald Chenoweth, the New Asia Chamber Music Society, and the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. Award-winning designers and visual artists with whom she worked include Myung Hee Cho, Jay Moorthy, AC Hickox, costume designer Karen Young, Angel Tsai, and, most recently, Javier Valencia from SoHarlem. With the help of her manager Joanne Rile, Chen’s work has been presented in 42 states and 10 countries to millions of people worldwide.

Christine Jowers is the founding editor of the nonprofit, independent arts journalism site The Dance Enthusiast. For 15 years, she has covered the NYC dance scene as a videographer, writer, and speaker. She has discovered and mentored new dance writers, provided a place for experienced journalists to share their work, and created space for artists to write firsthand of their efforts. Believing that everyone, not only critics and academics, should be part of the documented dance conversation, Jowers created a venue where audiences could contribute their thoughts on performance. Her work promoting dance literacy has been funded by Dance USA, through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the Lower Manhattan Community Council, under the auspices of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. Jowers credits her passion for arts and community to her Caribbean ancestry and upbringing.

The 2022 Bessie Awards Nominations

Outstanding Choreographer/Creator:

Kyle Abraham

An Untitled Love

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Sidra Bell

SUSPENDED ANIMATION

New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala at David H. Koch Theater

Camille A. Brown

Fire Shut Up in My Bones

The Metropolitan Opera

Leslie Cuyjet

Blur

Open Call at The Shed

Indigenous Enterprise

Indigenous Liberation

The Joyce Theater

Bill T. Jones, Janet Wong, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Deep Blue Sea

Park Avenue Armory

Rashaad Newsome

Assembly

Park Avenue Armory

Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born

On the way, undone

Crossing the Line Festival 2021 at Weeksville Heritage Center

Eiko Otake

The Duet Project: Distance is Malleable

NYU Skirball

Anna Sperber

Bow Echo

presented by XØ Projects Inc and The Old American Can Factory

Raúl Tamez

On Limón Dance Company

Migrant Mother

The Joyce Theater

Sasha Waltz

In C

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Outstanding Performer:

Soledad Barrio

Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca

By Soledad Barrio

The Joyce Theater

Krudxs Cubensi

Black Healing Portal II: Más allá del tiempo / Beyond Time

Park Avenue Armory

Kayla Farrish

December 8th

By Kayla Farrish in collaboration with Belinda McGuire

The Eva Yaa Asantewaa Solo for Solo Showing

Gibney

Carla Forte, Ildiko Toth, Joanna Lesnierowska, Ermira Goro, Rosalynde LeBlanc, and Colleen Thomas

Light and Desire

By Colleen Thomas

New York Live Arts

Antonio Granjero

Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca

By Soledad Barrio

The Joyce Theater

Lloyd Knight

With Martha Graham Dance Company

Treading

By Elisa Monte

The Joyce Theater

zavé martohardjono

TERRITORY: The Island Remembers

By zavé martohardjono in collaboration with x, Ube Halaya, Raha Behnam, Marielys Burgos Meléndez, Julia Santoli, Katherine De La Cruz, Jordan Reed, Theresee Tull, Proteo Media + Performance, Rosza Daniel Lang/Levitsky and Maya Simone Z

Gibney

Nikolai McKenzie Ben Rema

A Jamaican Battyboy in America

By Arthur Avilés

Hemispheric Institute at NYU and BAAD!

Doron Perk

Grandfather Visit

By Doron Perk

Presented through LABA: Laboratory for Jewish Culture at the 14th Street Y

Antonio Ramos

Puro Teatro

By luciana achugar

The Chocolate Factory Theater

Yesenia Selier

Cosmic Exu  
Queer Hip Hop Cypher

Park Avenue Armory
 

Shannon Tyo

As “Afong Moy”

The Chinese Lady

By Lloyd Suh

Directed by Ralph B. Peña

The Barrington Stage Company and Ma-Yi Theater Company Production

The Public Theater

Outstanding Revival:

A Jamaican Battyboy in America

Performed by Nikolai McKenzie Ben Rema

Original production in 1996 by Arthur Avilés, original title “A Puerto Rican Faggot from America”

Hemispheric Institute at NYU & BAAD!

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Performed by Mark Morris Dance Group

Original production in 1988 by Mark Morris

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Set and Reset/Reset

Performed by Candoco Dance Company

Original production in 1983 by Trisha Brown

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Treading

Performed by Martha Graham Dance Company

Original production in 1982 by Elisa Monté

The Joyce Theater

Outstanding Sound Design or Musical Composition:

Marc Álvarez (arrangement)

Carmen

By Johan Inger

Performed by Compañia Nacional de Danza

The Joyce Theater

Donald Eaton, Jerome Hunter, Abdel R. Salaam, Kweku Sumbry, and K. Osei Williams

TERRESTRIAL WOMBS

By Abdel R. Salaam

Presented at DanceAfrica

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Efraín Rozas

Puro Teatro

By luciana achugar

The Chocolate Factory Theater

Kwami Winfield

STELLAR

Virtual Performance

By Kyle Marshall

Baryshnikov Arts Center

Outstanding Visual Design:

Elizabeth Diller – DS+R, Peter Nigrini, and Robert Wierzel

Visual Environment, Video Projection, and Lighting Design

Deep Blue Sea

By Bill T. Jones, Janet Wong, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Park Avenue Armory

Indigenous Enterprise

Projection, Costume Design, and Lighting Design

Indigenous Liberation

By Indigenous Enterprise

The Joyce Theater

Andrew Jordan and Joe Levasseur

Costume Design and Lighting Design

Narcissus

By Christopher Williams

New York Live Arts

New Affiliates – Ivi Diamantopoulou, Jaffer Kolb, and Rashaad Newsome Studio with Truman T. Brown Jr.; Howie B., Kimberly Joneś, and Randy Rosenthal

Set Design and Costume Design

Assembly

By Rashaad Newsome

Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Breakout Choreographer:

Flex Kingdom: Jabari Gooding, Obinnaya Williams, and Diamond DuBose

Sun Kim

Princess Lockerooo

Angie Pittman

ABOUT THE BESSIES

The NY Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 38 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize outstanding work in choreography, performance, music composition, and visual design. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee composed of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. All those working in the dance field are invited to join the Bessies Membership as members and participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the selection committee. For more information about The Bessies, visit www.bessies.org.

The 2021–2022 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Ronald K. Alexander, Maria Baranova, Maria Bauman, Charles Vincent Burwell, Yoshiko Chuma, Sangeeta Ghosh Yesley, Valerie Green, Anabella Lenzu, Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Elgie Gaynell Sherrod, Ivan Talijančić, and Philip Treviño.

The Bessies Steering Committee: Yvonne H. Chow, Stanford Makishi, maura nguyen donohue, Nicky Paraiso, Carla Peterson, Craig Peterson, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, george emilio sanchez, Paz Tanjuaquio (chair), Laurie Uprichard, and Charmaine Warren. 

Press contact:

Janet Stapleton – 212-633-0016 / stapleton.janet@gmail.com

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: #TheBessies / @bessieawards

Executive Director Lucy Sexton and Managing Director Heather Robles welcomed the 800-plus artists and supporters of the New York dance community who had gathered to celebrate the nominees, winners, and The Bessies’ 35th anniversary. The ceremony featured a performance by Camille A. Brown & Dancers in Migration, the finale from Brown’s acclaimed 2017 work ink, her trilogy on race, culture, and identity. The evening also included an excerpt of 2019 Outstanding Breakout Choreographer Daina Ashbee’s Laborious Song, performed by Benjamin Kamino, and a new work choreographed by Hope Boykin featuring Jeroboam Bozeman, presented in tribute to Joan Myers Brown, this year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree. As part of the annual In Memoriam section, members of Stanley Love Performance Group made a special appearance in a simple procession commemorating the members of the NYC dance community who passed away this year. 

Tony Award-winning performer, teacher, and theater producer George Faison presented Joan Myers Brown with the 2019 Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award. Kevin Tarrant, the lead singer of the intertribal drum and dance troupe SilverCloud, presented Louis Mofsie with the 2019 Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance for his work with Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. Other presenters included Ephrat Asherie, Noah Paul Catala, Violeta Galagarza, Catherine Galasso, Tiffany Geigel, Lauri Hogan, Sara Mearns, Edie Nightcrawler, Arielle Rosales, Sue Samuels, Jennifer Tipton, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.

All of the awardees and nominees received a $500 honorarium, courtesy of a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. 

The ceremony was preceded by the Bessies Angel party honoring Laurie Uprichard for her stewardship of the awards for many of The Bessies’ 35 years, and her lifelong commitment to curating and supporting dance and performance. Following the awards presentation at Skirball, the celebration continued with a party at Judson Memorial Church.

The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday, November 17, at 8pm on WNET’s ALL ARTS, an unprecedented new broadcast channel, streaming platform, and website dedicated to arts and culture 24/7.

The 2019 NY Dance and Performance Awards Recipients and Citations:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

Joan Myers Brown

For helping shape American dance over six decades spent choreographing, training, and mentoring dancers at Philadanco. For championing and creating spaces for the work of African American choreographers through the formation of such seminal organizations as The International Association of Blacks in Dance. For doing it all with grace, generosity, artistry, and leadership.

OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE

Louis Mofsie

For his tireless and visionary service for more than half a century: preserving and keeping vibrant the dances, songs, and ceremonies of multiple Native American tribal traditions. Serving as leader, teacher, scholar, and emcee extraordinaire with his Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, he has toured to all 50 states, sharing and collecting dances that would otherwise be lost to history.

BESSIES ANGEL AWARD

Laurie Uprichard

For decades dedicated to dance artists and the creation of new dance works. For her stewardship of The Bessies, aiding in their inception and sustaining them for many years after. For being a leader and beloved member of every dance community she has touched.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTIONS

Nick Cave
The Let Go at Park Avenue Armory
For creating a ritual using colorful full-body masks, a moving stream of mylar, the choral uplift of the Sing Harlem choir, and Francesca Harper’s inspired choreographic structures, the piece invites us to lose ourselves and find each other in this divisive time.

nora chipaumire
#Punk 100% POP* N!GGA at The Kitchen and Crossing the Line Festival
For a radical and passionate blast of sound, movement, confrontation, and choreographed chaos. For working at the intersection of art, politics, and social commentary to create a devastating rendering of the politics of race.

Merce Cunningham with stager Patricia Lent and Merce Cunningham Trust
Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
For bringing Merce Cunningham’s work to new and expanded life on his centennial. Opening his work to the bodies of brilliant dance artists from all genres to create a mesmerizing event brimming with brilliance, generosity, unity, and trust.

Tania El Khoury
As Far As My Fingertips Take Me at Under the Radar/The Public Theater

For bringing the experience of migration and border control to our most intimate place—the body. For filling the audience’s ears with a story of displacement, while drawing the journey on their arm. reaching unseen and unprotected through a wall: a global crisis is brought home in indelible ways.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS

Leslie Cuyjet
Sustained Achievement with Jane Comfort, Niall Jones, Juliana F. May, Cynthia Oliver, Will Rawls
For her ability to combine technical precision, astonishing energy, humor, and raw theatrical power to consistently illuminate the choreographer’s vision.

Gabrielle Hamilton
in Oklahoma!’s Dream Ballet choreographed by John Heginbotham, at St. Ann’s Warehouse
For bringing her full self to expand the boundaries of a classic American play, and its iconic dream ballet: She is powerfully sensual, fully in control, moving with intelligence, fearlessness, and aplomb.

Taylor Stanley
in The Runaway by Kyle Abraham, New York City Ballet, at the David H. Koch Theater
Combining exceptional technique, clear musicality, and a fierce devotion to the choreography, he brought down the house with a piercingly revelatory solo performed with raw abandon and emotional purity.

Shamar Watt
Sustained Achievement in the work of nora chipaumire
For expressing, embodying, and extending the choreographer’s vision, while remaining forcefully himself. For inhabiting the worlds created with a riveting coiled energy that creates a dynamic and urgent NOW in every work.

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL

Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done
Yvonne Rainer, Deborah Hay, Lucinda Childs, David Gordon, Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown, and Simone Forti, curated by Ana Janevski at the Museum of Modern Art

A critical and pivotal exhibit featuring live performances that shined a light on a moment of radical invention in the history of American modern dance. Placing the work in the larger social and political context in which it was made, and giving it new relevance in the current moment.

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN / MUSIC COMPOSITION

Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher for More Forever by Caleb Teicher at Guggenheim Works & Process
Employing an unexpected mix of timbres—a toy piano, a computerized harp, the sound of scraped sand—composer and dancer introduce sophisticated sounds into the tap landscape. The improvised score pays homage to the very roots of the dance form, as it enriches the possibilities for its future.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL DESIGN
Design Team: Jeanne Medina and Ni’Ja Whitson (Costumes), Gil Sperling featuring artworks by Wangechi Mutu and Gavin Jantjes (Video), Tuçe Yasak (Lighting)
for Oba Qween Baba King Baba by Ni’Ja Whitson, co-commissioned by Danspace Project and Abrons Arts Center

For its innovative use of projection and light, using ceiling, wall, floor, audience, and dancers’ bodies as vessel and canvas. For mixing live performance, recorded and live video, and shape-shifting costumes to create a world of beauty, power, myth, and reality.

BESSIES JURIED AWARD (Presented in July 2019)

Alice Sheppard

For boldly and authentically inventing new movement vocabularies full of supercharged physicality and nuanced detail. Working with gravity, mechanics, human connection, and momentum, she creates work of power and empowerment.

OUTSTANDING BREAKOUT CHOREOGRAPHER (Presented in July 2019)

Daina Ashbee

For using the elemental female body itself as a means to excavate and expose layered histories of violence against women. Using repetition, painful ritual, and raw and resilient bodies, her work draws the viewer into a journey of insistence and transformation.

About the Bessies

The NY Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 35 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize outstanding work in choreography, performance, music composition, and visual design. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee comprised of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. All those working in the dance field are invited to join the NY Dance and Performance League as members and participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the selection committee. For more information about The Bessies, visit www.bessies.org.

The 2019 Bessie Awards Steering Committee, responsible for setting policy and providing oversight for the Bessie Awards throughout the year, is comprised of Cora Cahan, Beverly D’Anne, Jeanne Linnes, Stanford Makishi, Nicky Paraiso, Carla Peterson, Gus Solomons jr, Paz Tanjuaquio, Judy Hussie-Taylor, Laurie Uprichard, and Martin Wechsler.

The 2018–2019 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Ronald Alexander, Elise Bernhardt, Charles Vincent Burwell, Diana Byer, Tymberly Canale, Alexis Convento, Parijat Desai, Maura Donohue, Boo Froebel, Angela Fatou Gittens, Diane Grumet, Brinda Guha, Joseph Hall, Mai Lê Hô, Iréne Hultman, Celia Ipiotis, Koosil-ja, Fernando Maneca, Lydia Mokdessi, Harold Norris, Craig Peterson, Doug Post, Rajika Puri, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Susan Reiter, Walter Rutledge, George Emilio Sanchez, Andrea Snyder, Sally Sommer, Risa Steinberg, Carrie Stern, Catherine Tharin, Tony Waag, and William Whitener.

Press contacts:

Janet Stapleton – 212-633-0016 / stapleton.janet@gmail.com

Kamila Slawinski – 347-534-6029 / kamila@kamilaslawinski.com

Follow The Bessies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: #BessiesAwards / @bessieawards

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced the complete list of the 2015–16 season award recipients tonight at the 32nd Annual Bessie Awards ceremony. Awards were presented in the categories of Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Music Composition/Sound Design, and Outstanding Visual Design, with additional awards presented for Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance. The full list of 2016 Bessie Award recipients follows. The 32nd Annual Bessie Awards were held at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House at 7:30pm, following red carpet interviews and pre-show celebrations.

Katy Clark, President of BAM, Lucy Sexton, Executive Director of the NY Dance and Performance Awards, and Lane Harwell, Executive Director of Dance/NYC, gave opening remarks and acclaimed choreographer and comedian Adrienne Truscott hosted the ceremony.

The evening included performances by Joya Powell, recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Emerging Choreographer Award, an excerpt from Donald McKayle’s Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder (2016 Bessie for Outstanding Revival), performed by Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and produced by Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, and a tap tribute to 2016 Lifetime Achievement in Dance recipient Brenda Bufalino.

Composer and director Meredith Monk presented Eiko Otake with a Special Citation for her A Body in Places platform, presented and produced by Danspace Project. Dancer Ayodele Casel presented Brenda Bufalino with the 2016 Bessie for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. Judy Hussie-Taylor, Executive Director & Chief Curator of Danspace Project, and Alastair Macaulay, chief dance critic of the New York Times, presented an award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance to The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Alex Smith, Executive Chairman of the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center also received an award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance, presented by Philadanco founder Joan Myers Brown.
Other presenters included Tei Blow, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Judith Jamison, Amar Ramasar, Regg Roc, Carlota Santana, and Alice Sheppard.

The 2016 Bessie Awards are produced in partnership with Dance/NYC and presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The 2016 NY Dance and Performance Awards presented at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House are as follows:

SPECIAL CITATION
Eiko Otake
2015 Danspace Project Platform: A Body in Places
For making herself “radically available” in public and private spaces over several weeks, actively engaging with pressing political and environmental issues of our time. For collaborating with a wide range of artists through performances, readings, films, discussions, and rituals to evoke the power and meaning of the human body inhabiting a planet in crisis.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
Brenda Bufalino
For her visionary work ensuring the future of the American art form of tap dance with the formation of the American Tap Dance Orchestra and Foundation. For introducing innovative concepts to tap choreography and for inspiring a new generation of tap artists to expand the art form.

OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE
Alex Smith
For his 21-year commitment to the presentation and preservation of dance by choreographers of color through the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center. For offering emerging and established artists performance opportunities and for developing audiences from underserved and underrepresented communities.

The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
For giving the ephemeral art of dance a rich afterlife through its unrivalled collection of video, writing, photos, choreographers’ notes, and more. Thanks to decades of work by dedicated staff and leadership, dance’s past is there to be remembered, recovered, discovered, and imagined.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
Souleymane Badolo for Yimbégré at BAM Fisher
For investigating the artist’s experience of home and not home, of African and American identity, of ancient rhythms and modern jazz in a work that gloriously communicated the clash and reconciliation of the different traditions held within one’s life, one’s body.

Pat Graney for Girl Gods at Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University
For a visually stark and surreal depiction of the emotions, strength, and rage of generations of women and girls struggling under the constraints of society’s image of what it is to be female.

Maria Hassabi for PLASTIC at MoMA
For masterfully transforming the museum environment into an inclusive performance space in which the viewer’s gaze was directed from performer to spectator, putting all bodies on display.

Ralph Lemon for Scaffold Room at The Kitchen
For a complex meditation on the black female experience in our culture, exploring its expression, projection, and manipulation. For mining Southern family stories and pop culture icons to create a work that troubled, entertained, and challenged its audience.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER
Ephrat Asherie
For her body of work
For a presence and a skill that is immediate and unmistakable, explosive and captivating. For her vibrant contributions to the works of Michelle Dorrance, Doug Elkins, Rennie Harris, Bill Irwin, Cori Olinghouse, Gus Solomons jr, and others.

Kazunori Kumagai
For Live at the Blue Note
For his powerful athletic technique combined with a riveting clarity. For extending the improvisational tradition of tap with a show danced in dialogue with musicians Alex Blake, Bill Ware, and Samuel Torres at the Blue Note.

Molly Lieber
For her body of work
For her introspective and tenacious performances, demonstrating her clear intention and visceral choices, and embodying the choreographic intention of a wide range of artistic processes in the work of luciana achugar, Maria Hassabi and Donna Uchizono.

Jamar Roberts
Sustained Achievement with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
For impeccably representing the traditional values of classic modern dance while forging new paths with his sublime artistry, technical precision, and passionate presence with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL COMPOSITION/SOUND DESIGN
Dan Trueman in collaboration with Sō Percussion and Mobius Percussion
For There Might Be Others by Rebecca Lazier at New York Live Arts
For building a sound system which enabled an infinitely varied aural world, using drums, percussion instruments, pieces of paper, mobile phones, wine bottles, and more. The percussionists and dancers equally inhabited an everchanging composition in Rebecca Lazier’s There Might Be Others.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL DESIGN
Holly Batt
For Pat Graney’s Girl Gods at Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University
For creating an immersive and interactive environment of boxes that metamorphosed in tone and purpose, from towering backdrop to dresser drawers to ritual containers for Pat Graney’s Girl Gods.

Three awards were presented in July at the Bessies press conference. The 2016 Bessie for Outstanding Revival was presented to Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder by Donald McKayle, performed by Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and produced by Paul Taylor American Modern Dance at the David H. Koch Theater – For giving a classic modern dance powerful new life, transforming the midcentury portrayal of an African-American prison chain gang into a searingly resonant cry for our current times, performed with humanity, craft, and beauty.

The 2016 Emerging Choreographer Award went to Joya Powell for her passionate choreographic engagement with issues of justice and race in our communities and our country, for connecting with the audience in ways that make it clear that these concerns belong to all of us—and action is required. This year’s Juried Bessie Award went to Pam Tanowitz for using form and structure as a vehicle for challenging audiences to think, to feel, to experience movement; for pursuing her uniquely poetic and theatrical vision with astounding rigor and focus. The 2016 Bessie Jury was comprised of Yoshiko Chuma, Liz Gerring, and Bill T. Jones.

The list of 2015–16 nominees can be found at: www.bessies.org

The Bessie Committees:
The 2016 Bessie Awards Steering Committee, responsible for setting policy and providing oversight of the Bessie Awards throughout the year, is comprised of Cora Cahan, Beverly D’Anne, Lane Harwell, Jeanne Linnes, Stanford Makishi, Nicky Paraiso, Carla Peterson, Tamia B. Santana, Laurie Uprichard, and Martin Wechsler.

The 2015−16 Bessie Awards Selection Committee consists of Diana Byer, Kim Chan, Leah Cox, Nancy Dalva, Maura Donohue, Simon Dove, Angel Feliciano, Boo Froebel, Angela Fatou Gittens, Caleb Hammons, Zhenesse Heinemann, Jerron Herman, Iréne Hultman, Robert LaFosse, Melissa Levin, Matthew Lyons, Harold Norris, Craig Peterson, Mathew Pokoik, Rajika Puri, Susan Reiter, Walter Rutledge, Sue Samuels, Philip Sandstrom, Risa Shoup, Sally Sommer, Risa Steinberg, Carrie Stern, Kay Takeda, Catherine Tharin, David Thomson, Muna Tseng, Kay Turner, Tony Waag, Eleanor K. Wallace, Edisa Weeks, Ryan Wenzel, Adrienne Westwood, William Whitener, and Elizabeth Zimmer.

About the Bessies:
The NY Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 32 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize outstanding work in choreography, performance, music composition, and visual design. Nominees are chosen by a 40-member selection committee comprised of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. All those working in the dance field are invited to join the NY Dance and Performance League, as members participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the selection committee. www.bessies.org

Press contact: Janet Stapleton – 212-633-0016 / stapleton.janet@gmail.com

Digital photos are available on request.

Follow the Bessies on Facebook / #theBessies / @bessieawards