Lucy Sexton News

Dixon Place announces the recipient of the 3rd Annual 2015 Tom Murrin Performance Award, also known as The Tommy. As a transformative career opportunity for an emerging NYC-based artist or company, this year's award is being presented to Monstah Black.

Fifty years after its storied New York premiere, The Kitchen and the Goethe-Institut will present a 21st-century staging of Originale, a music-theater piece by pioneering German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007). Directed by Big Art Group's Caden Manson and Jemma Nelson, this staging, much like it's 1964 New York premiere, will feature a notable cross-section of contemporary performance artists and musicians whose actions are organized by Stockhausen's score and accompanied by noted electroacoustic compositions, such as his Kontakte.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announces Arthur Mitchell, founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, as the recipient of the 2014 NY Dance and Performance Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance and Dr. Chuck Davis of DanceAfrica! for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance. These awards will be presented at the 30th Annual Bessie Awards ceremony at the legendary Apollo Theater on Monday, October 20.

The Joyce Theater, under the executive direction of Linda Shelton, announces Joyce Unleashed, a collection of three cutting-edge performances presented outside of its historical Chelsea home, from May 8-17. Artists include the Seattle-based zoe | juniper performing BEGINAGAIN at 3-Legged Dog Art & Technology Center in Downtown Manhattan from May 8 - 10; NYC-based Laurie Berg's The Afterlife and Minneapolis-based SuperGroup's The Tent Has Been Pulled Down will perform at Brooklyn's Invisible Dog Art Center from May 15-17. Tickets for all performances are $15 and are available at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212.242.0800. Seating is general admission.

Dixon Place has announced the recipient of the 2014 (second annual) Tom Murrin Performance Award, a.k.a. 'The Tommy.' Intended to a transformative career opportunity to an early career NYC-based artistic or company, this year's award will be presented to Andrew Schneider, a performance / interactive-electronics artist who was previously a seven-year member of the Wooster Group. The second annual Tommy Award presentation will take place at Dixon Place (161a Chrystie Street, New York City) on Sunday, April 27th at 7:30PM. The awards celebration - featuring a special appearance by the 2013 Tommy Award winner, talk-of-the-town performance company ANIMALS, as well as Tom Murrin's wife, Patricia Sullivan -- will be the final stop of a parade of spontaneous outdoor performances, which will commence at closing of the Tom Murrin Full Moon Performance Festival at La Mama. The parade will begin approximately at 6:45pm and travel from East 4th Street to Dixon Place. The Tommy Award party at Dixon Place is FREE, with a cash bar all night.

Chaired by Michael Stipe and Justin Vivian Bond, PS122's Spring 2014 Gala will celebrate freedom of expression by honoring actor and performance artist John Fleck, performance artist and writer Holly Hughes, and performance artist Tim Miller-three of the four solo performers known collectively as the NEA 4. In addition, Clara Miller will receive the Shining Star Award, an award traditionally given to a non-artist who has greatly impacted the arts community of NYC. Miller founded the Nonprofit Finance Fund in 1980, which radically changed how non-profits think about their financial strategies.

The Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center ('the PAC') today announces the establishment of a core team of artistic leaders: David Lan (Artistic Director of London's Young Vic) as Consulting Artistic Director; Lucy Sexton (artist, producer, and Director of the New York Dance & Performance Awards (aka The Bessies)) as Associate Artistic Director; and Andy Hayles, Managing Partner of Charcoalblue (London's National Theatre, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, and the future home of Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse), as theater design consultant. Stephen Daldry (director of the films The Hours, Billy Elliot, The Reader and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and of Billy Elliot the Musical, and former Artistic Director of London's Gate Theatre and Royal Court Theatre) has joined the PAC's Board of Directors. The artistic team is collaborating with the PAC's staff, board and numerous consultants to create a place that is unique on the cultural landscapes of New York, the United States and the world.

Sumi Clements, Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director, Taryn Vander Hoop, co-founders of Summation Dance, announced the dates of their third annual Dancing Literate Festival, today, November 21-23, 2013, featuring performances by emerging companies and choreographers. The successful annual program aims to bridge the gap between the artist and the viewer by offering educational opportunities on the choreographic process and by providing an interactive experience in which the audience is encouraged to engage with dance making firsthand.

New York City's dance luminaries, rising stars, and fans were out in full force at the fabled Apollo Theater in Harlem on the evening of Monday, October 7th 2013 to attend the 29th annual Bessies Awards. The ceremony, named for contemporary dance legend Bessie Schonberg and produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, recognizes established as well as upcoming artists who have made outstanding contributions to the many disciplines of the liveliest art in the Dance Mecca of the World.

Sumi Clements, Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director, Taryn Vander Hoop, co-founders of Summation Dance, announced the dates of their third annual Dancing Literate Festival, November 21-23, 2013, featuring performances by emerging companies and choreographers. The successful annual program aims to bridge the gap between the artist and the viewer by offering educational opportunities on the choreographic process and by providing an interactive experience in which the audience is encouraged to engage with dance making firsthand.

Mikhail Baryshnikov serves as the Honorary Chairman for Uptown Downtown, a special one-night-only extravaganza to benefit the Abrons Arts Center on October 14. Bringing together the brightest lights of New York City's uptown and downtown performance scenes, the evening will feature Kyle Abraham, Joey Arias, Jack Ferver + James Whiteside, Ellen Greene, Robert La Fosse, Bebe Neuwirth, Philippe Petit, and other special guests. Lance Horne serves as Musical Director.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premiere dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announces legendary dance historian Nancy Reynolds as the recipient of the 2013 NY Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance Award. The award will be presented at the 29thAnnual Bessie Awards ceremony at the legendary Apollo Theater on Monday, October 7th.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the 40 nominees for the 2012-13 season. Announced at a press conference by members of The Bessies Selection Committee, the nominations (listed below) were made by an independent committee of 38 dance industry professionals. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, Bessie Award categories include Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Visual Design, Outstanding Composition or Sound Design and Outstanding Revived Work.

On Sunday, February 24, dance professionals from all over New York City convened at Gibney Dance Center for Dance/NYC's fourth annual symposium. The sold-out 2013 symposium sought to 'explore the role and reach of NYC dance and dig deep into the current circumstances of funding, touring, marketing, and education.'

Performance Space 122 (PS122) has announced that multi-talented performance artist Mike Iveson is the winner of the 2013 Ethyl Eichelberger Award. Since 1995, PS122 has given this commissioning award annually to an artist or group that exemplifies Eichelberger's larger-than-life style and generosity of spirit; that embodies his multi-talented artistic virtuosity, bridging worlds and inspiring those around them. Iveson will receive an initial $5,000 commission to create a new work along with full production support when the work premieres during an upcoming PS122 season. The Ethyl Eichelberger award is made possible by the generosity of the Gesso Foundation.

Ellie Covan, Founder & Artistic Director of Dixon Place, announced today that the NYC performance company ANIMALS will be awarded the First Annual Tom Murrin Performance Award on Friday, February 8th at 9pm at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street). The award has been created to honor and celebrate the life and work of Tom Murrin (aka the Alien Comic) by providing a transformative career opportunity to an emerging artist, selected by a distinguished panel of producers, artistic directors and artists.