MANCC Artists Nominated for Bessie Awards and Awarded NDP Grants
MANCC artists and collaborators have recently been recognized through the New York Dance and Performance Awards (a.k.a. The Bessies) nominations and National Dance Project awards, informed by the scholarly engagements and student involvement during their MANCC residencies. The Bessies, first established in 1983, are an annual award recognizing significant achievement in the field of dance and performance. The 2014 nominations include Choreographic Fellow Okwui Okpokwasili for Outstanding Production for “Bronx Gothic,” developed, in part, at MANCC in 2012. While in residence, Okpokwasili consulted with Department of Religion Associate Professor and cultural anthropologist, Dr. Joseph Hellweg and held a work-in-progress showing for School of Dance students. Okpokwasili recently finished a tour of “Bronx Gothic” in Los Angeles. MANCC Choreographic Fellow Miguel Gutierrez’s collaborator Micky Mahar has been nominated in the Outstanding Performer category for his work in Gutierrez’s “Age & Beauty Part 1”, amongst his performance work in other pieces.
Okwui Okpokwasili performs at FSU School of Dance Forum
Gutierrez and Mahar finished a successful run of “Age & Beauty” as part of the Whitney Museum’s Biennial this spring. While at MANCC, they prepared for the Whitney’s rigorous performing schedule by holding three work-in-progress showings in an afternoon, engaging more than seventy-five FSU students, faculty and Tallahassee community members. They will return to MANCC to continue work on “Age & Beauty,” developing “Parts 2 and 3.”
The New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project (NDP) awards support both the creation and touring of new works. 2014 recipients include Returning Choreographic Fellows Miguel Gutierrez, Yanira Castro and David Neumann. Gutierrez was awarded the grant for “Age & Beauty” and Castro for “Court/Garden,” both pieces they developed, in part, at MANCC during the 2013-2014 season. David Neumann, who was previously in residence at MANCC in 2007 and 2011, was awarded the NDP grant for “I Understand Everything Better,” a work that he will come to MANCC to develop.