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DANCE NEWS: The NY Dance and Performance Awards, a.k.a. The Bessies, Announce the Nominees for the 2019–20 Season
The 36th annual Bessies Ceremony will be streamed on a virtual platform on Monday, December 14, at 7:30pm ET. The event is free, with a suggested donation of any amount. Registration is required at Bessies RSVP. For more information and to purchase tickets to the virtual Angel Reception, visit Angel Reception tickets. The celebration will continue at the free, virtual Bessies After-party following the ceremony. Everyone who registers for The Bessies Ceremony will be invited to the party.
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 2019–20 season. This year, all of the nominees will be honored. Each nomination will be recognized with a $500 honorarium, courtesy of a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Honorees for Lifetime Achievement, Service to the Field of Dance, and 2020 Special Citation will be announced at The Bessies Ceremony.
All of the nominees being honored presented live performance work prior to the March 15 citywide shutdown due to the pandemic. In acknowledgement of the artists who were unable to present their work this season, The Bessies Steering and Selection Committees decided to forego giving individual awards this year. Artists who presented work after March 15, including on virtual platforms, are eligible for award consideration in the 2020–21 season.
The Bessies Ceremony will be a place for the dance and performance community to come together in solidarity, support, and celebration during these times of continuing challenge. The event will feature video footage of the nominated artists’ works, and will include a special tribute to the often unsung but essential members of the community who are central to the process of bringing live and online dance and performance to audiences in New York City.
“We hope to reflect the immense scope of our dance and performance community at the virtual 2020 Bessies Ceremony because The Bessies belongs to all of us,” said Bessies Managing Director and Producer Heather Robles. “We look forward to celebrating all of the 2020 nominees and the extraordinary work presented this past season. We will acknowledge how organizations and individuals came together to support one another during Covid-19, we will hear from beloved members of our community, and we will lift up many luminaries for their lifetime achievement in dance and service to the field.”
The pre-ceremony Angel Reception will honor choreographer, producer, and former executive director of The Bessies Lucy Sexton for her leadership and advocacy for dance for so many years. The Bessies Angel Reception will include remarks by Bebe Neuwirth, exclusive footage of DANCENOISE’s 1989 show All the Rage, and more.
Robles stated: “We are thrilled to honor the incomparable Lucy Sexton at The Bessies Angel Reception for her unparalleled leadership, vision, and dedication to The Bessies and the artists we serve.”
Click on the links with asterisks to read coverage by contributors of The Dance Enthusiast.
The 2020 Bessie Nominees/Honorees
Outstanding Production
through the mirror of their eyes***
Monica Bill Barnes and Robert Saenz de Viteri
Days Go By***
Afro/Solo/Man
At Gibney
Ayodele Casel and Arturo O’Farrill
Ayodele Casel + Arturo O’Farrill***
Last Audience
At New York Live Arts
My Diary: Secret Journey to Tipping Utopia
Concert
Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero***
At The Joyce Theater
American Utopia
jumatatu m. poe and Jermone “Donte” Beacham
Let ‘im Move You: This Is a Formation
this is now, and now, and now.
At JACK
Outstanding Performer
In A.D. and Colored*** by Kyle Marshall
At BAM Fisher
In Inoah by Bruno Beltraõ/Grupo de Rua
In through the mirror of their eyes by Kimberly Bartosik***
At New York Live Arts
In The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood by Suguru Yamamoto
The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival 2020
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Huwer Anthony Marche Jr. (“King Havoc”)
In LayeRhythm Jam
At Nublu
Shannon Nash
In Community Exercises for Sanctuary Spaces by Brendan Drake
At The Brick
In My Diary: Secret Journey to Tipping Utopia by Yoshiko Chuma
At The Invisible Dog
For Sustained Achievement in the work of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
In Colored by Kyle Marshall***
At BAM Fisher
In Kalpana – the world of Imagination by Kelucharan Mohapatra and Surupa Sen
Presented by Drive East Festival
In Under Siege by Yang Liping
In Odeon by Ephrat Asherie***
At The Joyce Theater
Breakout Choreographer
Outstanding Revival
Busk
Performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Colored***
At BAM Fisher
From The Horse’s Mouth, various works
By Jamie Cunningham and Tina Croll/Horse’s Mouth honoring the 75th anniversary of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Monuments: Echoes in the Dance Archive
By Adam Weinert
At The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION NOMINEE: Gregory Vuyani Maqoma's Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero; photo by photo by Siphosihle Mkhwanazi
Outstanding Sound Design/Musical Composition
For Soundz at the Back of My Head by Thomas F. DeFrantz/Slippage***
At Gibney
Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Ntuthuko Mbuyazi
For Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero by Gregory Maqoma/Vuyani Dance Theater***
At The Joyce Theater
For Last Audience by a canary torsi/Yanira Castro
At New York Live Arts
Nioka Workman, nia love, and Antoine Roney
For g1(host):lostatsea by nia love***
At Gibney
Outstanding Visual Design
Peter Born (Set and Lighting Design)
For Sitting on a Man’s Head by Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born
Liam O’Brien & Kelly Hanson (Costume and Scenic Design), Mary Ellen Stebbins and Jane Cox (Lighting Design)
For Days Go By by Monica Bill Barnes and Robert Saenz de Viteri***
At Brookfield Place New York
Ricarrdo Valentine and Orlando Zane Hunter (Video)
For Afro/Solo/Man by Brother(hood) Dance!
At Gibney
Tim Yip (Visual Director and Set) and Beili Liu (Installation)
For Under Siege by Yang Liping Contemporary Dance
At David H. Koch Theater
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION NOMINEE: Ayodele Casel and Arturo O’Farrill in Ayodele Casel + Arturo O’Farrill; photo by Patrick Randak
The 2020 Bessie Awards Steering Committee, responsible for setting policy and providing oversight for the Bessie Awards throughout the year, is comprised of Cora Cahan, Judy Hussie-Taylor, Jeanne Linnes, Stanford Makishi, Nicky Paraiso, Carla Peterson, Craig Peterson, Gus Solomons jr, Paz Tanjuaquio, Laurie Uprichard, Charmaine Warren, Martin Wechsler, and Eva Yaa Asantewaa.
The 2019–2020 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Ronald Alexander, MFA, Maria Baranova-Suzuki, Elise Bernhardt, Charles Vincent Burwell, Diana Byer, Michele Byrd-McPhee, Tymberly Canale, MFA, Boo Froebel, Angela Fatou Gittens, Ph.D, Diane Grumet, Mai Lê Hô, Iréne Hultman, Celia Ipiotis, Koosil-ja, Nicole Mannarino, Jessica Massart, Craig Peterson, Pam Pietro, Rajika Puri, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Susan Reiter, George Emilio Sanchez, E. Gaynell Sherrod, Ed.D, Andrea Snyder, Dr. Sally R. Sommer, Risa Steinberg, Carrie Stern, Ph.D., Ivan Talijancic, Catherine Tharin, Philip Treviño, Muna Tseng, Tony Waag, William Whitener, Sangeeta Ghosh Yesley, and Dr. Layla Zami.
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 36 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 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.
