Dance Magazine Awards 2026: Germaine Acogny, Ayodele Casel, Cleo Parker Robinson Among Honorees
The 2026 Dance Magazine Awards will celebrate influential artists and activists including Germaine Acogny, Ayodele Casel, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Alice Sheppard. The prestigious Lydia Joel Award will be presented to Alicia Adams, while Jasmine Hearn and Keerati Jinakunwiphat will receive the Harkness Promise Awards. Several figures, including Balasaraswati and Steve Paxton, will be honored posthumously. This year's ceremony is set for November 23 at 7 pm EST at The Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City. Tickets are available for purchase through Dance Media's website, with more coverage appearing in the upcoming November/December Dance Magazine issue.
Key facts
- The 2026 Dance Magazine Awards will honor Germaine Acogny, Ayodele Casel, Final Bow for Yellowface, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Alice Sheppard.
- The Lydia Joel Award will go to Alicia Adams, formerly of the Kennedy Center.
- The Harkness Promise Awards will go to Jasmine Hearn and Keerati Jinakunwiphat.
- Posthumous awards will celebrate Balasaraswati, Choo San Goh, Steve Paxton, Eleo Pomare, and Charles H. Williams.
- The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, November 23 at 7 pm EST at The Ailey Citigroup Theater in The Joan Weill Center for Dance, New York City.
- The 2026 theme is "Artists/Activists."
- The Dance Magazine Awards date back to 1954.
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance opened a 25,000-square-foot extension in January 2026.
Entities
Artists
- Germaine Acogny
- Ayodele Casel
- Cleo Parker Robinson
- Alice Sheppard
- Alicia Adams
- Jasmine Hearn
- Keerati Jinakunwiphat
- Balasaraswati
- Choo San Goh
- Steve Paxton
- Eleo Pomare
- Charles H. Williams
- Phil Chan
- Georgina Pazcoguin
- Maurice Béjart
- Léopold Sédar Senghor
- Helmut Vogt
- Sherrilyn Ifill
- Lydia Joel
- Skip Netzorg
Institutions
- Dance Magazine
- Final Bow for Yellowface
- Kennedy Center
- Harkness Foundation for Dance
- Kinetic Light
- Mudra Afrique
- École des Sables
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble
- Cleo II
- Shorter Building
- URUCUM Global Arts
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
- New York City Center
- Harlem School of the Arts
- New York Live Arts
- 92NY
- Harkness Dance Center
- Princeton University
- Baryshnikov Arts
- The Ailey Citigroup Theater
- The Joan Weill Center for Dance
- Dance Media
- Gold Standard Arts Foundation
- Oakland Ballet
- Boston Lyric Opera
- Indiana University
- Carleton College
- Harvard University
- Fordham University
- New York City Ballet
- Dance/NYC
- Tony Award
- PBS ALL ARTS
- U.S. Postal Service
- Radcliffe Fellow
- United States Artists
- Herb Alpert Award
- Operation: Tap
- Dance Lab New York
- Tap Dance Project
- Bessie Awards
- Doris Duke Artist
- MacDowell
- Disability Futures
- UCLA
- NCCAkron
- Knight Choreography Prize
- APAP
- Dance Lab Honors
- Princess Grace Award
- Live Feed Creative Residency
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Dakar
- Senegal
- Denver
- Washington, DC
- Bronx
- Puerto Rico
- Venice
- France