“There Might Be Others” wins BESSIE for Outstanding Score
Time for gratitude. We all know it takes a village but There Might Be Others took a veritable multiplicity of municipalities that were interdisciplinary and transnational.
The performing instructions told us to act generously when frustrated, that when chaos emerges you must collect to survive, and to share leadership. Things to remember in these times.
Thank you to not only the dancers who performed at New York Live Arts—Raja Feather Kelly, Anna Schön, Natalie Green, Simon Courchel, Christopher Ralph, Saúl Ulerio, Cori Kresge, Tan Temel, Pawel Sakowicz, Agnieszka Kryst, Ramona Nagabczynska, Jan Lorys, Rhonda Liane Baker, and Sara Coffin—but also to the many communities in Poland, Turkey and Canada and people who contributed to early iterations and rehearsals: Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Silas Riener, Elisa Osborne, Pierre Guilbault, Vincent Mcloskey, Sernaz Demirel, Jacinte Armstrong, Susanne Chui, Asli Bulbul, Paul E Hamilton, Anna Steller, Jenna Reigel, Bryan Strimpel, Josh Tuason, Brandon Washington, Kaya Kolodziejczyk. You all rock. Thank you to Joanna Leśnierowska and Stary Browar, Nowy Titanic with Szymon Wroblewski, and the Institute Adama Mickiewicza without whom the Polish contingency would not be present; Tan Temel, Tork Dans and the American Embassy in Ankara who brought us to the far reaches of Turkey; Chris O'Neill and the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts together with Mocean Dance to support not just beer drinking and igloo building but also dance making; Nicky Paraiso for giving us one of the first chances to present the work at LaMaMa Moves, Majel Connery and James Steichen who commissioned the very first showing and the ever necessary MR at Judson Church where so much begins. Davison Scandrett and Mary Jo Mecca you made us live in new worlds and look amazing, thank you. Dan Trueman, So Percussion, and Mobius and guests—Yumi Tamashiro, Frank Tyl, Mika Godbole , David Degge, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski Eric Bradley Cha-Beach, Jason Hussein Treuting, Alex Appel, Dylan Greene, Shane Shanahan, Jess Tsang, Luz Carime Santa-Coloma, watching our worlds come together each day was a gift and joy. To Meredith Boggia, matchmaker extraordinaire and divine behind the scenes impresario, Tommy Kriegsmann for the gift of bringing us to NYLA, and Lynne Desilva-johnson and her Operating System Press for publishing the book of There Might Be Others, which is now an open source available for all! In 1989, I sat in the balcony at the Bessies at BAM and would never have dreamt I would have the chance to make that strange face on stage!
Thank you Bessie Committee, Lucy Sexton and all of the people working so hard to bring recognition to our field. And to all of the nominees and all of the amazing work that happens in NY and around the world that goes unrecognized, keep making work.
Other rules of the piece were to: reduce resistance, if someone is alone go to where they are, if there is chaos hierarchy will emerge, work to come together, and keep saying yes. #funnyface #thebessies