The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, have announced the nominees for the 2021 Bessie Awards. Digital performances presented between March 15, 2020 and May 31, 2021, and in-person performances presented between June 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021, were considered for Bessie nominations. Award categories include Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Music Composition or Sound Design, Outstanding Visual Design, and Outstanding Breakout Choreographer, which recognizes an artist who has made an exceptional leap in visibility and impact in their career this past season. The list of nominations is below.
“Dance artists and their collaborators have continued to dream and build during the pandemic,” said Bessies Executive Director Heather Robles. “They have called upon each of us to reimagine and commit our collective movement toward equity, justice and healing. We are thrilled to celebrate their work and the resilience of our community at the virtual 2021 Bessies Ceremony.“
The 37th Annual Bessie Awards ceremony will be livestreamed on Monday, October 11, at 7:30pm ET. Reservations for the ceremony will be available starting September 20, through donation.
The 2021 Bessie Award Nominations
Outstanding Production:
Kyle Abraham, When We Fell, New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theater
Kyle Abraham and Taylor Stanley, Ces noms que nous portons, New York City Ballet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Stefanie Batten Bland, Kolonial, Baryshnikov Arts Center
mayfield brooks, Whale Fall, Abrons Arts Center
Ayodele Casel, Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theater
Janessa Clark, Communion, Janessa Clark and HERE Arts Center
Johnnie Cruise Mercer, _AshadowPrince, Presented through Stephen Petronio Company’s Bloodlines(future) program
Israel Galván, Maestro de Barra, The Joyce Theater
Indigenous Enterprise, Indigenous Enterprise: Powwow Style, The Joyce Theater
Eiko Otake, A Body in a Cemetery, Pioneer Works and Green-Wood Cemetery
Mariana Valencia, Brownout, Baryshnikov Arts Center
Saul Williams, Bill T. Jones, Maria Bauman, Kayla Farrish, Marjani Forté-Saunders, d. Sabela grimes, Jasmine Hearn and Shamel Pitts, The Motherboard Suite, New York Live Arts
Outstanding Performer:
LaTasha Barnes, Sustained Achievement
Isabella Boylston, Sustained Achievement with American Ballet Theatre
Marc Crousillat, Watermotor by Trisha Brown, The Joyce Theater
d. Sabela grimes, The Motherboard Suite, We get what you deserve, New York Live Arts
Jasmine Hearn, The Motherboard Suite, Order of Time, New York Live Arts
Princess Lockerooo, Sustained Achievement
Sara Mearns, State of Darkness by Molissa Fenley, The Joyce Theater
Anjali Mehta, Descent by Anjali Mehta, The Artivist’s Studio and Lion Party Films
Annique Roberts, Sustained Achievement with Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
Nicholas Sciscione, Bloodlines Season 7 by Stephen Petronio Company, The Joyce Theater
Michael Trusnovec, State of Darkness by Molissa Fenley, The Joyce Theater
Huiwang Zhang, OUR LABYRINTH by Lee Mingwei/Bill T. Jones, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Outstanding Revival:
State of Darkness by Molissa Fenley, The Joyce Theater
Watermotor by Trisha Brown, Trisha Brown Dance Company, The Joyce Theater
Outstanding Music Composition/Sound Design:
Monstah Black, for _AShadowPrince by Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Presented through Stephen Petronio Company’s Bloodlines(future) program
Pedro León and Manu Prieto, for Maestro de Barra by Israel Galván, The Joyce Theater
Arturo O’Farrill, Crystal Monee Hall (singer/songwriter), Annastasia Victory (music director and composer) and Senfu Stoney (percussionist), for Chasing Magic by Ayodele Casel, The Joyce Theater
Saul Williams, for The Motherboard Suite, New York Live Arts
Outstanding Visual Design:
Kyle Abraham (Director), Ryan Marie Helfant (Director & Director of Photography), Eric K. Yue (Director of Photography), and Esteban Pedraza (Editor), When We Fell by Kyle Abraham, New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theater
Tei Blow and Sean McElroy, Visuals, The Sprezzaturameron by Tei Blow and Sean McElroy, Baryshnikov Arts Center
Conrad Quesen (installation) and Shane Ballard (costumes), Kolonial by Stefanie Batten Bland, Baryshnikov Arts Center
Catalin Stelian (Director of Photography, Cinematography, Editor), Kofi Assane Opare (Cinematography) and Kweku Amantey Opare (Editor), Steel Standing by Fritzlyn Hector, DanceAfrica 2021, Brooklyn Academy of Music
Outstanding Breakout Choreographer:
Hope Boykin
Johnnie Cruise Mercer
Maleek Washington
André M. Zachery
For more information, visit bessies.org.
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