The Bessies Will Honor Dyane Harvey-Salaam, Garth Fagan, Ballet Tech, And Gibney Dance

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, known as The Bessies, will present its 2024 and 2025 Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance awards at its 41st annual ceremony. The awards will be presented on Tuesday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. at Dixon Place in New York City. Admission to the ceremony is free.

Dyane Harvey-Salaam will receive the 2024 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance, while Ballet Tech will be honored with the 2024 Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance award. For 2025, choreographer Garth Fagan will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Gibney Dance will be recognized for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance.

2024 Honorees

Dyane Harvey-Salaam is a founding member of Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company and longtime collaborator with director Abdel R. Salaam. Her career spans concert dance, Broadway, film, education, and writing, with work performed nationally and internationally. She has received numerous honors, including a Bessie Award for performance, AUDELCO Awards, and recognition from the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Miami Dade Community College Artistry-in-Motion Dance Living Legacy Award.

Harvey-Salaam has performed with companies including the Eleo Pomare Dance Company, Dance Brazil, and the Trinidad Repertory Dance Theatre, and is the founder of Ma’at Pilates. She has taught at Princeton and Hofstra Universities and has contributed to scholarly and literary publications documenting her artistic collaborations. Her career has been chronicled by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library.

Ballet Tech, founded in 1974 by choreographer Eliot Feld, is a New York City dance institution dedicated to providing access to ballet education for young dancers through its public school audition program and tuition-free training model. Formerly known as the New York City Public School for Dance, Ballet Tech integrates rigorous classical instruction with academic and artistic mentorship. In 2023, Dionne Figgins was appointed Artistic Director, continuing the institution’s commitment to equity and excellence in dance education.

2025 Honorees

Garth Fagan is the founder and Artistic Director of Garth Fagan Dance and is widely recognized for developing a distinctive movement language that blends modern dance, ballet, Afro-Caribbean traditions, and postmodern techniques. His choreography includes works created for Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Broadway production of The Lion King, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Choreography. His career spans more than five decades and includes numerous honors such as a Guggenheim Fellowship and Jamaica’s Order of Distinction.

Gibney Dance, founded in 1991 by choreographer Gina Gibney, is a multidisciplinary arts organization with two locations in Manhattan that support dance creation, training, and performance. In addition to its presenting and residency programs, Gibney is recognized for its Community Action initiative, which uses movement-based workshops to support survivors of gender-based violence. The organization also provides subsidized studio access, professional development, and advocacy programs for dance artists.

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