New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies)

New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies)
Name	New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies)
Awarded for	Excellence in dance and performance art
Presenter	Dance/NYC; formerly The New York Dance and Performance Awards Committee
Country	United States
First awarded	1984

New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies) The New York Dance and Performance Awards (commonly called the Bessies) are annual honors recognizing achievement in dance and performance art in New York City, established in 1984 with ties to institutions such as Dance/NYC, Bessie Schönberg, and The Village Voice. Recipients have included artists connected to companies and venues like Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, New York City Ballet, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Judson Church, signaling the awards' role in foregrounding innovations associated with Modern dance, postmodern dance, and interdisciplinary performance.

History

The awards were inaugurated in 1984 amid dialogues involving figures from Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, New York Theatre Workshop, and critics from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Village Voice Critics Circle, and Time Out New York, reflecting cross-institutional networks spanning Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dance Theater Workshop, and Judson Dance Theater. The naming honors choreographer and educator Bessie Schönberg, and over decades the Bessies have intersected with controversies and collaborations involving artists such as Trisha Brown, Pina Bausch, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, and organizations like Dance/NYC, New York Foundation for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts. Institutional shifts saw administration move between presenters including Dance New Amsterdam, New York Live Arts, and City Center, while aesthetic debates connected the awards to movements involving Merce Cunningham's chance procedures, Paul Taylor's theatricality, and Judson Dance Theater's experimentalism.

Award Categories and Criteria

Category designations have evolved to recognize multiple forms associated with artists from New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pilobolus, Martha Graham Dance Company, and independent makers such as Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Ralph Lemon, Twyla Tharp, and Annabel Lopez Ochoa. Typical categories include Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performer (often awarded to artists linked to New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor Dance Company), Outstanding Choreography (with nominees including choreographers like Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, Mark Morris), Outstanding Revival (connecting to repertory from Martha Graham or George Balanchine), and Outstanding Visual Design (invoking collaborations with designers from Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music). Criteria emphasize artistic innovation, technical achievement, and impact on audiences frequenting venues such as New York Live Arts, The Kitchen, St. Ann's Warehouse, and Joe's Pub.

Nomination and Selection Process

Nominations emerge from a pool of critics, curators, and presenters associated with organizations including Dance/NYC, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, New York Foundation for the Arts, and presenters from Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Judson Church. Selection panels historically have included critics like Alastair Macaulay, curators from Dance/NYC, and artistic directors from companies such as New York City Ballet and Martha Graham Dance Company; finalists reflect seasons programmed by New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, American Dance Festival, and BAM. The process balances peer nomination, critical assessment, and sometimes audience input, with committees convening to assess submissions against criteria influenced by practices from postmodern dance leaders including Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer.

Ceremony and Venue

Ceremonies have taken place at venues associated with major presenters such as Joe's Pub, BAM, Lincoln Center, City Center, and The Kitchen, attracting attendees from companies including Alvin Ailey, New York City Ballet, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and independent producers such as Danspace Project and New York Live Arts. Programs typically feature performances by nominees and archival tributes to figures like Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, and tributes hosted by presenters including Dance/NYC and critics from The New York Times and The Village Voice.

Notable Winners and Impact

Notable winners include individuals and companies such as Bill T. Jones, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Pina Bausch, Ohad Naharin, Ruth St. Denis, Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, Eiko & Koma, Ivo van Hove, Akram Khan, Ralph Lemon, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Shannon Gillen, illustrating the awards' breadth across modern, contemporary, and interdisciplinary practices. The Bessies have influenced commissioning and programming decisions at institutions such as Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Live Arts, Dance/NYC, and funding agencies including National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts by signaling critical endorsement that can lead to touring engagements, residencies at Williams College, Princeton University, or international festivals like Festival d'Avignon and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques of the awards have invoked debates involving coverage by outlets such as The New York Times and The Village Voice, disputes over representation affecting artists from communities linked to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, African American Dance Theater, Latinx choreographers, and immigrant artists associated with venues like Danspace Project and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Controversies have included questions about transparency in nomination processes similar to debates at Pulitzer Prize committees, debates over institutional bias connected to major presenters like Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music, and disputes over categorization that mirror earlier conflicts involving Judson Dance Theater and postmodern dance critics. Calls for reform have come from collectives and advocacy groups such as Dance/NYC and New York Foundation for the Arts seeking expanded criteria, broader geographical inclusion, and equity practices paralleling initiatives by National Endowment for the Arts and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Category:Dance awards