Theatre nominees include Jay Armstrong Johnson for his performance in On the Town, Will Pullen for his performance in The Wayside Motor Inn, Alex Sharp for his performance in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Collin Kelly-Sordelet for his performance in The Last Ship.

The nominees for dance are Harrison Ball of New York City Ballet, Christopher Bloom of Ballet Hispanico, Russell Janzen of New York City Ballet and Bevon Teuscher of American Ballet Theatre.

The Dance Award is presented by Julie Kent, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, and the Theatre Award is presented by former Clive Barnes Award recipient Rob McClure, currently starring in Honeymoon in Vegas.

Previous winners include Chase Finlay (2010, New York City Ballet), MJ Rodriquez (2011, Rent), Isabella Boylston (2011, American Ballet Theater), Lauren Lovette (2012, New York City Ballet), Jonny Orsini (2013, The Nance) and Lloyd Mayor (2013, Martha Graham Dance Company).

The Selection Committee for the Clive Barnes Award includes William H. Ausman, Siobhan Burns, Diana Byer, Frank DiLella, Barbara Hoffman, Arthur Mitchell, Patrick Pacheco, James Sutton, Valerie Taylor-Barnes and Craig Wright.

All finalists receive a cash prize, with the winners in each category receiving an award of $5,000.

The Clive Barnes Foundation and awards are named for dance and theatre critic Clive Barnes, who died in 2008.