Justin Vivian Bond, the Bessie Award-winning multidisciplinary artist and Tony-nominated co-creator of Kiki and Herb, has been announced to host the 2019 Bessie Awards, which will be presented October 14 at 7:30 PM at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
The evening will also feature performances by Tony Award-nominated Once On This Island and Choir Boy choreographer Camille A. Brown & Dancers, as well as 2019 Outstanding Breakout Choreographer Award recipient Daina Ashbee, and a tribute to Lifetime Achievement in Dance honoree Joan Myers Brown, performed by Hope Boykin.
WNET will tape the 35th annual awards ceremony, which will be available on its new digital platform All Arts in November.
Among this year's nominees are Oklahoma! lead dancer Gabrielle Hamilton, who made her Broadway debut last season in Daniel Fish’s reimagined take on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. Veteran New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Tiler Peck, seen earlier this year in the new dance-centric musical Marie, Dancing Still, was also nominated for her sustained achievements with NYCB.
