The NY Dance and Performance Awards, aka The Bessies, Announce the Nominees for the 2019–20 Season

In IMPRESSIONS: Fall for Dance 2020 Presented by City Center, "Lady Sings the Blues transports us to a smoky jazz club where the astounding Dormeshia, wearing gold shoes and a shiny top, tap dances with and in response to the swinging percussionists. She smiles in approval as they engage her in a witty call and response." — Theo Boguszewski, New York

In Creating Opportunity within Adversity: Reopening University Dance Programs in the Time of Covid-19, "As campuses reopen with restrictions, collegiate faculty and staff across New York City have been challenged to create a plan that will maintain their high-quality dance education within guidelines that are antithetical to the art form: social distancing, the absence of touch, and isolation from peer groups." — Cecly Placenti, New York

In IMPRESSIONS: "Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters" : "The Loyola students, born 10 years or so after D-Man premiered, can work on the steps, and gestures of the dance, but can they comprehend the reality of the era in which it was made? They admit (somewhat shockingly) AIDS is glossed over when it is discussed with them; the disease is something remote, unconnected, and separate from their world." — Christine Jowers, New York

In IMPRESSIONS: “Crutch,” a Documentary about Bill Shannon by Sachi Cunningham and Chandler Evans, Premiering at DOC NYC , "After his show, Sketchy, was panned and he made several lifestyle changes (wife, kids, Pittsburgh, urban farming), he returned to solo work where he could interrogate random interactions with people." — Erin Bomboy, New York

In Letter from the Editor: The Resilience of Dancers, The State of Enthusiasm, and a New Initiative: Moving Visions, "So, in the spirit of flowing, shifting, and reshaping energy, and because we miss the exhilaration of working closely with artists, The Dance Enthusiast is excited to introduce a new initiative to our site called Moving Visions. With this program, we welcome artists and enthusiasts to guide our coverage as guest editors, asking that they share their passion, expertise, and curiosity with us while we celebrate their accomplishments and viewpoints." — Christine Jowers, New York

In MOVING PEOPLE: Daniel Gwirtzman on Maintaining a Company for 20+ Years, Optimism as a Choice, and His Love of the Polka, the Charleston, and The Hora Or, "I can’t say I have a favorite movement. Favorite dances however must include The Bus Stop, The Charleston, The Polka and Hora Or, which I’ve been dancing since
elementary school." — Daniel Gwirtzman

"I want dance to continue to thrive and grow in New York City." Amber Sloan, NYC

In MOVING PEOPLE: MOVING PEOPLE: Jacqulyn Buglisi on William Blake, Reimagining "Table of Silence Project 9/11" during COVID-19, and the Performance with the Martha Graham Dance Company She Would Relive, "returning from the Redwood Forest to continue rehearsing with my dancers and composer Alex Weiser at BAC to complete my unfinished ballet, The Invisible Embrace of Beauty." — Jacqulyn Buglisi on how she would choreograph the perfect day

In IMPRESSIONS: Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company's “Solo Suites,” "The dance portion of this program concludes with a tongue-in-cheek (we hope) response to Roberta Flack’s famously meditative recording of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Dancer Jennifer Fiorentino kneels and reaches forward gently to touch—what else?—the cheek of an invisible lover." — Robert Johnson, New York

In IMPRESSIONS: Annie Rigney’s “Quis Est” at the Ace Hotel, "Their movements start to differ from one another, drawing from vocabularies both classical and urban. As their actions escalate in speed and intensity, the city spins around us in the same chaotic harmony." — Theo Boguszewski, New York

In Pavan "PMT" Thimmaiah on Dance Studio Alliance, His Favorite Time of Day, and Why Conan O'Brien Should Take His Class at PMT House of Dance, "Living with Hemihyperplasia and with being brown," is what he says are his personal challenges. 

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