2024 Bessie Awards
Lifetime Achievement in Dance
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
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.
*Photo Credit: Ellen Crane
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.
For an exquisitely embodied performance in Boy mother/faceless bloom, Haruko Crow Nishimura brings a lithe, playful, and ritualistic physicality that deepens the work’s emotional and mythic terrain. Her duet with yuniya edi kwon radiates trust, generosity, and transformation, anchoring the performance with precision and profound presence.
For visionary design and technical artistry in Boy mother/faceless bloom, Joshua Kohl shapes an immersive performance environment where sound, space, and light function as living collaborators. His sensitive, imaginative integration of technical elements amplifies the work’s ritual power, guiding audiences through shifting worlds with clarity, care, and resonance.
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.