Among those honored were choreographers Alonzo King, Ralph Lemon, David Neumann, and Tere O'Connor, as well as the company Chunky Move.
Composer and performer Meredith Monk received an award, as did Jonathan Bepler, who is perhaps best known for creating the scores for Matthew Barney's Cremaster films.
The awards, which have been presented for 21 years, are known as the "Bessies" after the late dance teacher Bessie Schonberg.