by Marilyn Lester
The atmosphere in the Friar’s Club Milton Berle Room was well-nigh dancing as the nominations were announced for the 2016 Fred and Adele Astaire Awards, by theater critic Michael Reidel. Since 1982 the awards honor excellence in dance and choreography on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in film. This year, a new category was added, for best ensemble dancing in a Broadway Show. Two special awards also will be given at the 2016 awards ceremony (May 16 at the NYU Skirball Center) to Judith Jamison, artistic director emerita at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Nigel Lythgoe, creator and executive director of the TV series So You Think You Can Dance. Maurice Hines will be honored for his body of work.
This year’s nominating committee – Wendy Federman (chair), Nikki Atkins, Ted Chapin, Pat Collins, Don Correia, Sandy Duncan, Harry Haun, Jonathan C. Herzog, Judith Jamison, Anna Kisselgoff, Pia Lindstrom, Donna McKechnie, Bruce Michael, Mary McColl, Michael Milton – chose these nominees in competitive categories:
BEST FEMALE DANCER
Mara Davi, Dames at Sea
Deanna Doyle, Tuck Everlasting
Sandra Mae Frank, Spring Awakening
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Eloise Kropp, Dames at Sea
Ana Villafañe, On Your Feet
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along
BEST MALE DANCER
Phillip Attmore, Shuffle Along
Alex Brightman, School of Rock
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Carlos Gonzalez, On Your Feet
Curtis Holland, Shuffle Along
Kendrick Jones, Shuffle Along
Luis Salgado, On Your Feet
BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Warren Carlyle, She Loves Me
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
Lorin Latarro, Waitress
Spencer Liff, Spring Awakening
Casey Nicholaw, Tuck Everlasting
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet
Josh Rhodes, Bright Star
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW
Bright Star
Dames at Sea
Fiddler on the Roof
Hamilton
On Your Feet
School of Rock
She Loves Me
Shuffle Along
Spring Awakening
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN FILM
Luke Broadlick, Teresa Espinosa, Alison Faulk & Channing Tatum, Magic Mike XXL
Christopher Gattelli, Hail, Caesar!
Aakomon Jones, Pitch Perfect 2
Joey Pizzi, Lucky Stiff
Fatima Robinson & Charm Jordan, Dance Camp
Dave Scott, High Strung
OUTSTANDING FEMALE DANCER OFF-BROADWAY
Yesenia Ayala, Trip Of Love
Leslie Kritzer , The Robber Bridegroom
Rumi Oyama, Sayonara
Jaime Lynn Verazin, Standard Time
Ellen Zolezzi, Cagney
OUTSTANDING MALE DANCER OFF-BROADWAY
Jeremy Benton, Cagney
Dave Thomas Brown, The Legend Of Georgia McBride
Robert Creighton, Cagney
Cory Lingner, Once Upon A Mattress
Matt McGrath, The Legend Of Georgia McBride
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY OFF-BROADWAY
Joshua Bergasse, Cagney
Martha Clarke, Angel Reapers
Connor Gallagher, The Robber Bridegroom
Paul McGill, The Legend Of Georgia McBride
James Ortiz, Claire Karpen & Will Gallacher, The Woodsman
Sergio Trujillo & Darrell Grand Moultrie, Invisible Thread
2016 Fred and Adele Astaire Awards May 16, 2016 at The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, 566 LaGuardia Place.
For more information and to order tickets: www.theastaireawards.org
