The 24th Annual New York Dance and Performance Awards, better known as ‘The Bessies’, took place in New York this week. This year’s awards were presented by Terry Dean Bartlett and Katie Workum at Spiegelworld, and along with a new location the co-producers welcomed a more freely-structured event with a festive atmosphere.

Established in 1983 and known as ‘The Bessies’, in honour of master teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards acknowledge outstanding creative work by independent artists in the fields of dance and related performance in New York City. Annually, over 45 artists, producers, and press join in a ceremony to honour the diversity of ideas that makes New York’s contemporary performing arts community thrive. They recognise the unique and exemplary creative voices and achievements in the fields of choreography, visual design, performance, installation and new media, and music composition.

Among this year’s honourees was DDF’s very own Laurie Uprichard who received a special award ‘for loving, nurturing, and challenging generations of dance artists; for giving a robust life to contemporary dance and performance; and for keeping New York City at the forefront of the global dance community through impeccable leadership at Danspace Project for over 15 years.’ Ms Uprichard was delighted to accept the award and commented that ’such an award as this can never be for one individual. We do our work as presenters, curators, producers etc. on behalf of the artists - they are the bedrock and focus, for without their creativity, we would be eminently redundant.’

Laurie Uprichard has served a long and successful career dedicated to the development of contemporary dance and arts. A former dancer, she performed with Kei Takei’s Moving Earth for five years, as well as with Irene Feigenheimer, Barbara Roan and Wendy Woodson. In 1984 Laurie became involved in Dance Theater Workshop, with which she remained affiliated until 1991, serving as Managing Director and Co-Producer in her final three years with the organisation. Following this, Laurie became Managing Director of Urban Bush Women until 1992 and remained on as Producing Director until 1996. She was appointed Executive Director of Danspace Project in New York in 1992 and remained there for a 15 year tenure before leaving to join Dublin Dance Festival in 2007.

Past Bessie recipients also include: Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, William Forsythe, David Gordon, Bill T.Jones, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Meredith Monk & Mark Morris.

Other honourees at the 2008 Bessies were:

Choreographer/Creator Award

• Back to Back Theater for Small Metal Objects
• Nora Chipaumire for Chimurenga
• Doug Elkins for Fraulein Maria
• Juliette Mapp for Anna, Ikea and I
• Maguy Marin for Umwelt
• Tom Pearson and Zach Morris for Vanishing Point
• Susan Rethorst for 208 East Broadway, Part 2: Suitcase Dreams
• Meg Stuart for Forgeries, Love and Other Matters and Maybe Forever

Installation & New Media

• David Michalek for Slow Dances

Performer Awards

• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for its 50th anniversary season
• Hilary Clark for her body of work
• William Isaac for his performance in Karole Armitage’s Connoisseurs of Chaos
• Jodi Melnick for her performance in the works of Susan Rethorst, Vicky Shick, John Jasperse, and Donna Uchizono
• Leah Morrison for her performance in Trisha Brown’s If You Could See Me
• Layard Thompson  for his performance with the Pixie Harlots and in solo performances inspired by Deborah Hay    

Composer Awards    

• Kris Bauman for Tom Pearson and Zach Morris’ Vanishing Point      
• Zeena Parkins for her body of work       
• Nitin Sawhney for his work in Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkauoi’s Zero Degrees

Visual Design Awards

• Aaron Copp for Jonah Bokaer’s The Invention of Minus One
• Joe Levasseur for his body of work
• Richard Siegal, Antoine Seigneur-Guerrini, Phillip Bußman  and Norbert Pape for Richard Siegel’s As If Stranger

Special Citations

• Jennifer Dunning, for her service to dance as an author and New York Times dance critic
• Deborah Jowitt, for her longstanding dedication as a chronicler of the dance community
• Laurie Uprichard, for her contributions to contemporary dance and performance through her leadership at Danspace Project