The New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies

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The Bessies For more info about joining the Leagues go to http://thefield.org/sa/549633

If you care about dance in NY and are interested in ways The Bessies might better serve dance artists, please consider joining The NY Dance and Performance "Bessies" League. Annual dues are $10 and you'll be asked to nominate committee members, participate in annual discussions, and offer input on who and what has happened in your part of the city's dance world.

07/07/2026

The Bessies proudly congratulate Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons , longtime honorees of the New York Dance and Performance Awards, on winning the 2026 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Cats: The Jellicle Ball. ✨

Leaders within New York City's ballroom community - Wiles of the House of Nina Oricci and Lyons of the House of Miyake-Mugler; the two choreographers brought the artistry, precision, and spirit of ballroom culture to Broadway in this celebrated reimagining of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Their achievement marks a significant moment for the visibility of ballroom as a legitimate and influential force within American theatre and dance.

We are honored to have recognized their work through the Bessie Awards, and we celebrate this well-earned milestone alongside the entire dance community.

Congratulations, Omari and Arturo. 🎉

07/06/2026

🎉 The Bessies extend our warmest congratulations to Jake Roxander, , recipient of the 2025 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer, on his promotion to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, effective September 1, 2026.

From Lensky in Onegin to ABT's top rank. Jake's advancement to ABT's highest rank reflects years of dedicated artistry and growth, and we are honored to have celebrated his work along the way. We look forward to following his continued contributions to the field of dance.

Congratulations, Jake. So well deserved. ✨

Photo: Steven Pisano

06/24/2026

✨Voices of The Bessies — Pedro Ruiz
1998 Outstanding Performer✨

As part of our ongoing Voices of The Bessies series, we are delighted to share reflections from Pedro Ruiz.

At this pivotal moment for The Bessies, these conversations help us honor the artists and visionaries who have shaped our community while inspiring new possibilities for the future. Their stories remind us that The Bessies is more than an award—it is a reflection of the creativity, excellence, and spirit of the dance field.

Thank you, Pedro, for sharing your memories, perspective, and wisdom with us.✨✨✨

06/12/2026

✨✨Voices of The Bessies — William Isaac
2008 Outstanding Performer✨✨

We are pleased to feature William Isaac as part of Voices of The Bessies, our ongoing series highlighting reflections from past award recipients.

As we work toward the future of The Bessies, these conversations offer an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of the organization, reconnect with our community, and imagine what comes next. The voices of past recipients remind us of the artistry, dedication, and shared values that continue to shape the dance field.

Thank you, William, for your insight, generosity, and for being part of this important conversation! ✨✨✨

05/20/2026

Voices of The Bessies — Jacqulyn Buglisi
2020 Special Citation for Table of Silence
As part of our ongoing interview series with past recipients, we are honored to share reflections from Jacqulyn Buglisi.
In this moment of rebuilding and reimagining The Bessies, these conversations serve as a bridge between past, present, and future — reminding us of the artists, voices, and community that continue to shape the field.
Thank you, Jacqulyn, for sharing your wisdom, generosity, and reflections with us.

05/07/2026

Voices of The Bessies — Abdiel
2024 Outstanding Performer

As part of our ongoing interview series with past recipients, we are honored to share reflections from Abdiel.

In this moment of rebuilding and reimagining The Bessies, these conversations serve as a bridge between past, present, and future — reminding us of the artists, voices, and community that continue to shape the field.

Thank you, Abdiel, for sharing your thoughts, memories, and reflections with us.

02/27/2026

We’re not done celebrating one of last year’s exceptional artists. ✨

The 2025 Outstanding Choreographer/Creator Bessie Award goes to Yoko Murakami 👏🏼

Yoko Murakami is a Tokyo-born and New York City-based artist. She creates movement-based work in forms of site-specific installations and experimental film. Her multi-disciplinary approach to performance spans collaborations in motion-capture technology, installation art, and wearable art where she continues to explore new ways to activate and question the way we interact with our environments. She has presented her creations in spaces like Mabou Mines (New York, NY), Ace Hotel (New York, NY), Triskelion Arts (Brooklyn, NY), Theaterlab (New York, NY), Da Da Da Gallery (Seattle, WA), Eshk Salon / Room Salon (Brooklyn, NY), and Aileyan Accessories (Brooklyn, NY). Her venture into experimental film has led to her works being selected and screened in festivals in Seoul, Moscow, Naples, Belfort, Cyprus, Mexico City, and Lincoln Center in NYC. Yoko is a recipient of the 2025 NYSCA grant and has served as a Bessies Award Selection Committee in 2022-2024.

🎤✨ Hear the acceptance speech in the reel.

📸 Photo Credit: Steven Pisano

02/13/2026

We’re not done celebrating one of last year’s exceptional artists. ✨

The 2025 Outstanding Choreographer Bessie Award goes to Lar Lubovitch 👏🏼

Lar Lubovitch founded Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968, has created over 120 dances with it and toured worldwide with it. Many other major companies also perform his dances, including Othello - A Dance in Three Acts, created with ABT and SF Ballet and featured on PBS’s “Great Performances” (Emmy nom.). Dances on film & television: Fandango (International Emmy), My Funny Valentine for Robert Altman film The Company (American Choreography Award nom.), Concerto Six Twenty-Two and North Star for BBC. Ice-dances for Olympic skaters & TV specials: The Sleeping Beauty On Ice (PBS), The Planets On Ice (A&E) (Int’l. Emmy nom., Cable Ace Award, Grammy Award). Broadway: Into the Woods (Tony nom.), The Red Shoes (Astaire Award) and Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I. 1987: conceived Dancing for Life, dance community’s first response to AIDS crisis. 2007: founded Chicago Dancing Festival (10 years of free performances by leading American dance companies). 2016: premiered The Bronze Horseman, at the Mikhailovsky Ballet (St. Petersburg, Russia). Recent awards: Chicagoan of the Year (Chicago Tribune) & (Chicago Magazine); Ford Fellow (US Artists); Dance/USA Honors; Prix Benois de la Danse for Choreography (Bolshoi, Moscow); America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasure (Dance Heritage Coalition); Lifetime Achievement awards from American Dance Guild; ADF/Scripps; Dance Magazine; Martha Graham Foundation, Martha Hill Dance Fund. Honorary Doctorates: Juilliard & Boston Conservatory. Since 2018: Distinguished Professor of Dance at UCIrvine.

🎤✨ Hear the acceptance speech in the reel.

📸 Photo Credit: Steven Pisano

02/13/2026

The 2025 Outstanding Choreographer Bessie Award goes to Fredrick Earl Mosley 👏🏼

Fredrick Earl Mosley is an award-winning, internationally recognized arts educator and choreographer, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance (EMDOD), established in 2006.

Under Mosley’s leadership, EMDOD advances artistic excellence by creating inclusive, affirming spaces where dancers from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds thrive. Its programs use dance as a tool for empowerment and social change. Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts (EMIA) offers rigorous, high-level training through a four-week summer intensive. Hearts of Men, a ten-day workshop, centers men and non-binary/gender-nonconforming artists, addressing identity, visibility, and equity in dance. Dancing Beyond annually unites dancers from high schools, colleges, and professional programs across the tri-state area to support the American Cancer Society through Dance Against Cancer.

Mosley’s honors include Dance Teacher Magazine’s Teacher of the Year (2005), the Martha Hill Fund Mid-Career Award for Excellence (2016), the Elisa Monte Lifetime Achievement Award (2018), and the Maestro title at FINBA (2024), in Cali, Colombia, choreographing a full-length work on 60 international dancers. In 2025, he received the José Limón Foundation Award for Innovation in Education, and in December 2025, presented the world premiere of Embrace which he choreographed on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

🎤✨ Hear the acceptance speech by in the reel.

02/13/2026

We’re not done celebrating one of last year’s exceptional performers. ✨

The 2025 Outstanding Performer Bessie Award goes to the Cast of CATS: The Jellicle Ball 👏🏼

COME ONE, COME ALL – The Jellicle Cats are having a BALL. Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worldwide phenomenon CATS is reimagined in a production that smashed records, won awards and left New York City purring. And now CATS: The Jellicle Ball ascends to Broadway in a kaleidoscope of glittering spectacle, iconic music and electrifying ballroom choreography that The New York Times calls “a lightning strike that sets joy free!”

Broadway meets Runway in the fiercest event of the season, directed by Obie Award winners Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, with choreography by Chita Rivera Award and Obie Award winners and New York City Ballroom icons Omari Wiles (House of NiNa Oricci) and Arturo Lyons (House of Miyake-Mugler). Don’t miss this “sexy celebration of love and resilience” (New York Daily News) and “the most exhilarating fun that can be had in the theater” (The Washington Post).

🎤✨ Hear the acceptance speech in the reel.

📸 Photo Credit: Steven Pisano

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161A Chrystie St
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Website

http://bessies.org/

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