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NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc.
Presents
The 3rd Annual
At
NYU Skirball Center For The Performing
Arts
The
3rd annual Chita Rivera Awards (www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com)
will take place on Sunday, May 19 at the NYU
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia
Place off of Washington Square Park), it was announced by Joe
Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York
City Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. (www.NYCDAFoundation.net).
Lanteri produces in conjunction with Patricia Watt.
The nominations for the 3rd annual Chita
Rivera Awards will be announced
April 26.
Carrying the namesake of one of the great
dance icons of the American musical theater, the mission of
the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and
choreographic excellence - past, present and future. The
awards will honor the superb achievement of each nominee,
while recognizing the immeasurable talents and passion of
every theatrical choreographer and dancer. Additionally,
through education and scholarships, the awards are committed
to nurturing future generations, as well as preserving
notable dance history.
Nominators
will consider outstanding choreography, featured dancers and
ensemble in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as,
outstanding choreography in film, that opened in the
2018-2019 season. Nominations
for the productions under consideration this season will be
determined by the designated nominating committee. There are
separate nominating committees for Broadway, Off Broadway
and Film. There is also an awarding committee for Broadway,
which determines the final nominations that are received
from the Broadway nominations committee.
Honorees of the Lifetime Achievement Award,
Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theater Award, and a
special Ambassador for the Arts Award will be announced in
the coming weeks. Tickets are currently available on www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com.
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation College
Scholarship Program will be the beneficiary of the event.
Since the inception of the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation,
2.5 million dollars have been awarded to over 200 dancers
represented in 42 of the most prestigious college dance
programs in the country.
2018-2019 CHITA RIVERA AWARD NOMINATING
COMMITTEES
The 2019 Awarding Committee
Chair: Sylviane Gold
Gary Chryst
Anna Kisselgoff
Robert LaFosse
Donna
McKechnie
Wendy
Perron
Lee
Roy Reams
Broadway Nominating Committee
Chair: Wendy Federman Robert
La Fosse
Melinda Atwood Joe
Lanteri
Caitlin Carter Donna
McKechnie
Don
Correia Michael
Milton
Gary
Chryst Mary
Beth O'Connor
Sandy
Duncan Laura
Penn
Mercedes Ellington Wendy
Perron
Sylviane Gold Lee
Roy Reams
Jonathan Herzog Andy
Sandberg
Anna
Kisselgoff Randy
Skinner
Robert La Fosse
Off Broadway Nominating Committee
Chair: Jonathan Herzog
Deidre Goodwin
Scott Jovovich
Robert LaFosse
Michael Milton
Film Committee
Chair: Jonathan Herzog
Co-Chair: Rex Reed
Wilhelmina Frankfurt
Joanna Ney
Mary Beth O’Connor
Andy Sandberg
About Chita Rivera
A theatrical icon and one of Broadway's
greatest triple-threat talents, Chita Rivera is one of the
most nominated performers in Tony Award history having
earned 10 nominations, won twice and received the 2018
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
A versatile actress/singer/dancer, she recently starred in The
Visit, the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally
musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela
Daniele on Broadway, the Broadway revival of The Mystery
of Edwin Drood, the Broadway and touring productions of The
Dancer’s Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her
spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed
by Graciela Daniele and the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with
Antonio Banderas. She
trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a
scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the
legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Chita’s first
appearance (age 17) was as a principal dancer in Call Me
Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the
original Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought
her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is
highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink
(Tony Award), Chicago, Jerry’s Girls, Kiss of the
Spider Woman (Tony Award), and the original
Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh
Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born
Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera,
Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with
The Rockettes. Chita
was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President
Barack Obama in 2009 and received the coveted Kennedy Center
Honor in 2002. In 2018 she was
honored as a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks
Conservancy; in 2016 she headlined at Carnegie Hall
and in 2015, Great Performances aired their special Chita
Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do, a retrospective of her
extraordinary life and career nationally on PBS. Her
current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing. Her
most treasured production is her daughter,
singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente.
About NYC Dance Alliance Foundation,
Inc. (NYCDAF)
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. (NYCDAF),
founded in 2010 by Executive Director Joe Lanteri, is
committed to broadening performing arts awareness while
advocating education and high standards of excellence in
dance. The Foundation invests in the next generation of
professional performers by offering scholarships for
secondary and college education. To date, over 250 talented
teenagers have shared in nearly $2.5 million awarded
directly through NYCDAF. Those recipients are represented
in 42 of the most prestigious university arts programs in
the country. Many have since graduated and are now
represented on Broadway, as well as concert dance companies
based in NYC and around the world. www.NYCDAFoundation.net
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