Bessie Awards
Encyclopedia
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, informally known as the Bessie Awards in honor of Bessie Schonberg, are awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance
and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances. The awards were established in 1983 and "celebrate the unique creative voices of performing artists while providing the dance and performance community with an occasion to gather together in sorrow, in frustration, in anger, but ultimately in celebration." http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:aHv6hSLz1kQJ:www.danspaceproject.org/about/pressreleases/bessies06.pdf+%22New+York+Dance+and+Performance+Awards%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&ie=UTF-8. They honor exceptional choreography, performance, music composition, visual design and others areas of dance and performance. The awards are determined by the Bessie Awards Committee, which consists of dance presenters, producers, journalists, critics and academics, and are given in no fixed categories.
Beginning in 2010, the annual award ceremony will be presented by Dance/NYC at Symphony Space
. From 1983 to 2008, it was presented by Danspace Project
and Dance Theater Workshop
, generally at the Joyce Theatre in the Chelsea area of Manhattan
in New York City
.
Over 400 Bessies Awards have been presented since their founding, including:
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances. The awards were established in 1983 and "celebrate the unique creative voices of performing artists while providing the dance and performance community with an occasion to gather together in sorrow, in frustration, in anger, but ultimately in celebration." http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:aHv6hSLz1kQJ:www.danspaceproject.org/about/pressreleases/bessies06.pdf+%22New+York+Dance+and+Performance+Awards%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&ie=UTF-8. They honor exceptional choreography, performance, music composition, visual design and others areas of dance and performance. The awards are determined by the Bessie Awards Committee, which consists of dance presenters, producers, journalists, critics and academics, and are given in no fixed categories.
Beginning in 2010, the annual award ceremony will be presented by Dance/NYC at Symphony Space
Symphony Space
Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...
. From 1983 to 2008, it was presented by Danspace Project
Danspace Project
Danspace Project was founded in 1974 to provide a performance venue for contemporary dance. Its performances are held in St. Mark's Church in the East Village area of the Manhattan borough of New York City.-History and mission:...
and Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, is a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies. Located as 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, DTW was founded in 1965 by Jeff Duncan, Art Bauman and...
, generally at the Joyce Theatre in the Chelsea area of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Over 400 Bessies Awards have been presented since their founding, including:
- Choreographers: Beverly Schmidt BlossomBeverly Schmidt BlossomBeverly Schmidt Blossom is an American modern dancer, choreographer and teacher. She was an original member and soloist with the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre, a modern dance choreographer for Illinois Dance Theatre, Blossom & Co...
, Trisha BrownTrisha BrownTrisha Brown is a postmodernist American choreographer and dancer.Brown was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and received a B.A. degree in dance from Mills College in 1958. Brown later received a D.F.A. from Bates College in 2000. For several summers she studied with Louis Horst at the American Dance...
, Donald ByrdDonald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Benoît Lachambre, Ann CarlsonAnn CarlsonAnn Carlson is an American dancer, choreographer and performance artist whose work explores contemporary social issues. She has performed through the United States an internationally and has won a number of awards....
, Ping ChongPing ChongPing Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
, Yoshiko ChumaYoshiko Chumais a dancer, a choreographer and the director of the Bessie Award winning performance art group The School of Hard Knocks. Described in 2007 by Bloomberg as "a fixture on New York's downtown scene for over a quarter- century", her work spans from early "absurdist gaiety" to more recent serious...
, Garth FaganGarth FaganGawain Garth Fagan, CD is a Jamaican modern dance choreographer. He is the founder and artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance, a modern dance company based in Rochester, New York.-Early years:...
, Molissa FenleyMolissa FenleyMolissa Fenley is a choreographer, modern dancer, and part-time associate professor of dance at Mills College. She has accepted commissions from Deutsche Oper Ballet of Berlin, Australian Dance Theatre, The Ohio Ballet, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet, and has won two New York Dance and...
, William ForsytheWilliam Forsythe (dancer)William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...
, Guillermo Gomez-PenaGuillermo Gómez-PeñaGuillermo Gómez-Peña was born in Mexico City and moved to the US in 1978, where he established himself as a performance artist, writer, activist, and educator. He has pioneered multiple media, including performance art, experimental radio, video, performance photography and installation art...
, David Gordon, Bill IrwinBill IrwinWilliam Mills "Bill" Irwin is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film and television and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on...
, Bill T. JonesBill T. JonesBill T. Jones is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.-Early life:Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School...
, Lisa JonesLisa JonesLisa Jones is the daughter of poets Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka . Her sister, Dr. Kellie Jones, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University....
, Anne Teresa de KeersmaekerAnne Teresa De KeersmaekerAnne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker is one of the most prominent choreographers in contemporary dance...
, Alonzo KingAlonzo KingAlonzo King is an American dancer and choreographer working in San Francisco, California. He is known for founding a contemporary ballet company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, in 1982....
, Édouard LockÉdouard LockÉdouard Lock is a Canadian dance choreographer and the founder of the Canadian dance group, La La La Human Steps.In 1957 Édouard Lock's parents moved to Montreal, where he studied film and literature at Concordia University....
, Meredith MonkMeredith MonkMeredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
, Mark MorrisMark MorrisMark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments...
, Steve PaxtonSteve PaxtonSteve Paxton is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown...
, Angelin PreljocajAngelin PreljocajAngelin Preljoçaj is a French dancer of Albanian origin and choreographer of contemporary dance.-Biography:His choreographic work is steeped in his writing of the history of classical ballet, but is resolutely contemporary...
, Pam Tanowitz, Doug VaroneDoug VaroneChoreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theater, opera, film, television and fashion. In 2007 he created three major pieces for his own Doug Varone and Dancers – the full-length multi-media Dense Terrain at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Victorious, commissioned by Bard’s SummerScape,...
, Jawole WIlla Jo ZollarJawole Willa Jo ZollarJawole Willa Jo Zollar is an American dancer, teacher and choreographer of modern dance. She is the founder of the Urban Bush Women dance company.-Biography:...
, Nora Chipaumire and Robert WilsonRobert Wilson (director)Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
- ComposerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s: David ByrneDavid Byrne (musician)David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
, Anthony DavisAnthony Davis (composer)Anthony Davis, better known as Tony Davis , is an American composer, jazz pianist, and student of gamelan music.-Biography:...
, Peter Laurence GordonPeter Laurence GordonPeter Gordon is an American experimental composer and musician, whose music draws from influences as diverse as jazz, opera, rock and world music...
, Julius HemphillJulius HemphillJulius Arthur Hemphill was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone; less often soprano and tenor saxophones and flute.-Biography:...
, Lenny Pickett, Dan Siegler and Hahn RoweHahn RoweHahn Rowe is an internationally renowned violinist, guitarist, composer, and record producer involved in a wide-range of projects. Originally a violinist and guitarist with New York City dream-poppers Hugo Largo, Rowe became a session player in the New York scene.As a musician, he has played on...
- Designers: Charles AtlasCharles AtlasCharles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano , was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all...
, Power Boothe, Beverly Emmons, David Ferri, Mark Lancaster, Stan Pressner, Philip Sandström, Jennifer TiptonJennifer TiptonJennifer Tipton is a lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater and opera.In 1958, she graduated from Cornell University...
, Philip Treviño