Last night the current BAX Artist In Resident luciana achugar won a Bessie Award, for “casting a spell on the audience and taking them into the dark, dark mysteries of the body and all its desires.”

She was awarded for her new work PURO DESEO, which was developed at BAX during the first year of her residency, and premiered at The Kitchen..

And that’s not all.

Former BAX Artist In Resident and Artist Advisor Faye Driscoll received an award “For masterfully invoking a collective past by exploring the raw intensity of childhood; for using text, movement, and song to uncover the falsity of the performance of identity; and for calling forth the true emotions beneath the surface” in her work 837 VENICE BOULEVARD.

Established in 1983 the Bessies acknowledge “outstanding creative work by independent artists in the fields of dance and related performance in New York City.” Annually, over 450 artists, producers, and press join in a ceremony to honor the recipients. They’re named after dance educator and mentor Bessie Schonberg.