DANCE

Performance artists John Malpede, Kevin Williams and their collective ensemble LAPD (Los Angeles Poverty Department) were among the winners at the sixth annual Bessie Awards for dance and performance given out Wednesday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Opera House. Others honored in the choreographer/creator category included San Diego/Tijuana interdisciplinary artist/writer Guillermo Gomez-Pena; Lucy Sexton and Anne Iobst of Dancenoise; Lars Goran Persson, Barnaby Stone and Jonathan Stone of the Anglo/Swedish group Ralf Ralf; writer/actor/director John O’Keefe; African-American dance specialist Dianne McIntyre; performance artist Linda Mancini, and postmodern choreographers Bill T. Jones and Molissa Fenley. Sponsored by Dance Theater Workshop, the Bessie Awards included a gift to each winner of up to $1,600 from Morgan Guaranty Trust and other donors..