The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography (previously titled the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards) celebrate outstanding dance and choreography in theatre, both on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Off-Broadway and in film at an annual ceremony in New York City at the

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, generally known as NYU Skirball, is an 850-seat theater at 566 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan, New York, owned by New York University. It was named after philanthropist Jack H. Skirball. The th ...

. Now carrying the namesake of two-time Tony-winning dance icon

Chita Rivera Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson; January 23, 1933), is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in ''West Side Story'', Velma Kelly in ''Chic ...

, The Rivera Awards will be presented under the auspices of American Dance Machine, an organization dedicated to the preservation of great musical-theater choreography.

The awards

The awards are given for theatre and film productions and performances for each season they fall in. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are also given, including a Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient and an Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre and Film award. The awards were named after

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and

Adele Astaire Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville perfor ...

. The awards for Off-Broadway performances and productions were first presented with the 2016 awards. Now named The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography, The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards were established in 1982. It was initially known as simply The Astaire Awards. The award was established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in ten Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931. The awards previously honored the "best dance on Broadway in the categories of best choreographer, best female dancer and best male dancer." The first Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

in 2008. The awards were expanded to include dance in and choreography for film in 2008.

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Other Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include

Kenny Ortega Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American filmmaker, touring manager, and choreographer. He is known for directing the films '' Newsies'', '' Hocus Pocus'', ''The Cheetah Girls 2'', ''High School Musical'', '' Michael Jackson's T ...

in 2010, and Jacques D’Amboise in 2011. Liza Minnelli received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award for 2012,

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

was the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2013, and

Patricia Birch Patricia Birch (born October 16, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, film director, and theatre director. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including ''Brigadoon'', ''Goldi ...

received the award in 2014.

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical '' Cabaret'' on Broadway as well as in the 1972 fi ...

received the 2015 Watt Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as film producer

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...

(Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre & Film). The Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016 was given to

Judith Jamison Judith Ann Jamison (pronounced JAM-ih-son) (born May 10, 1943) is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Early training Judith Jamison was born in 1943 to Tessie Brown Ja ...

, and

Maurice Hines Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (born December 13, 1943) is an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He is the older brother of dancer Gregory Hines. Life and career Hines was born in 1943 in New York City to a Catholic couple, Alma Iola ...

was given a special recognition award for Outstanding Body of Work in Dance." ''Shuffle Along'', ''She Loves Me''s Jane Krakowski Top 2016 Astaire Awards; All the Winners!"
broadwayworld.com, May 16, 2016 On March 30, 2017, it was announced that the Astaire Awards were "rebranded" as the Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography. The awards will be presented by the American Dance Machine for the 21st Century, with the first awards presented on September 11, 2017 at the Hirschfeld Theatre in New York City. The show was directed by

Randy Skinner Randy Skinner is an American dancer, director and choreographer, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated four times for Tony Awards, three times for Drama Desk Awards, and four times for Outer Critics Circle Awards for choreography. Ear ...

and hosted by Bebe Neuwirth. Nominations for the Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography were announced on May 1, 2017, and included the first Lifetime Achievement Award to

and the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theater as Director to Diane Paulus. The new musical ''Bandstand'' received 5 nominations, and the Off-Broadway production of ''Sweet Charity'' received 6 nominations. ''Bandstand'' won the award for Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show and ''Sweet Charity'' won the award for Outstanding Choreography In An Off-Broadway Show. The award nominations for 2018 were presented on May 20, 2018. The Broadway revival of '' Carousel'' received the most nominations, with seven. Carmen De Lavallade (Lifetime Achievement Award),

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

(Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theater Award) and

Harold Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

(SDC Director Award for Exemplary Collaboration with Choreographers) received special awards. Steven Hoggett, on Broadway this season with ''Angels in America'' and ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', received the inaugural Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics' Choice Award. Sergio Trujillo, won the award for Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show for ''Summer: The Donna Summer Musical''; Zach Morris and Jennine Willet won the award for Outstanding Choreography in an Off-Broadway Show for ''Ghost Light''; the award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show was a tie between ''Carousel'' and ''Mean Girls''.Clement, Olivia
"Ariana DeBose, Tony Yazbeck, and More Recipients of 2018 Chita Rivera Awards"
playbill.com, May 20, 2018

References

{{reflist

External links

Chita Rivera Awards Official Site
American choreography awards Dance awards American film awards American theater awards Awards established in 1982 1982 establishments in the United States Fred Astaire