Chita Rivera

 

Sergio Trujillo, Andy Blankenbuehler

 

Josh Bergasse

 

 

Photos by Shana Nelson

 

The Dance in Film nominations for the 2017 Chita Rivera Awards were announced at a reception at The Lambs Club. In keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered films that opened during the 2016-2017 theater season.
Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth and Michael Riedel were on hand to announce the film nominations and celebrate with the theater dance nominees.
The 2017 Chita Rivera Awards will be presented on September 11, 2017, directed by four-time Tony® Award nominee Randy Skinner and produced by American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21)and its Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Nikki Feirt Atkins.
As previously announced, theater and dance legend Tommy Tune will be presented with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the September 11th ceremony.
The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, and the awards seek to continue that vision by not only celebrating the superb achievement of each nominee but by recognizing the immeasurable talents and passion of every theatrical choreographer and dancer.
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Nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers and ensemble in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as, outstanding choreography in film, that opened in the 2016-2017 season. Nominations for the productions under consideration this season were determined by the designated Nominating Committees. There are separate Nominating Committees for Broadway, Off Broadway and Film. There is an Awarding Committee for Broadway, which determines the final nominations that are received from the Broadway Nominations Committee.
2016-2017 CHITA RIVERA AWARD CHOREOGRAPHY IN FILM NOMINATIONS
 
Theatrical Release Nominees
Beauty and the Beast, Anthony Van Laast, Choreographer
La La Land, Mandy Moore, Choreographer
London Road, Javier de Frutos, Choreographer
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Danielle Flora and Tian Wang, Co-Choreographers
Documentary Nominees
Alive and Kicking (Magnolia Pictures, Distributor), Director: Susan Glatzer
Dancer (WestEnd Films),Director: Steven Cantor
Mr. Gaga (Abramorama Films), Director: Tomer Heymann
Restless Creature (Abramorama Films), Directors: Linda Saffire, Adam Schlesinger
 
2016-2017 CHITA RIVERA AWARD DANCE IN THEATER NOMINATIONS
 
Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show:
Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand
Josh Bergasse, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Warren Carlyle, Hello Dolly!
Peter Darling and Ellen Kane, Groundhog Day
Kelly Devine, Come from Away
Denis Jones, Holiday Inn
Sergio Trujillo, A Bronx Tale

Kelly Devine

 

Cast: A Bronx Tale

 

Cast: Come From Away

 

Cast: The Great Comet of 1812

 

 
Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show:
A Bronx Tale
Bandstand
Cats
Come from Away
Hello Dolly!
Holiday Inn
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

Cast: Cats

 

Cast: Bandstand

 

 
Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show:
Corbin Bleu, Holiday Inn
John Bolton, Anastasia
Max Clayton, Bandstand
Tyler Hanes, Cats
Ryan Kasprzak, Bandstand
Ricky Ubeda, Cats

Tyler Hanes

 
Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show:
Andrea Dotto, Bandstand
Lora Lee Gayer, Holiday Inn
Eloise Kropp, Cats
Georgina Pazcoguin, Cats
Emma Pfaeffle, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Megan Sikora, Holiday Inn
Christine Cornish Smith, Cats
Jaime Verazin, Bandstand

Eloise Kropp

 

Georgina Pazcoguin

 
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN AN OFF-BROADWAY SHOW:
Joshua Bergasse, Sweet Charity
David Dorfman, Indecent
Merete Muenter, The Golden Bride
David Neumann, The Total Bent
Misha Shields, Baghdaddy
OUTSTANDING FEMALE DANCER IN AN OFF BROADWAY SHOW:
Yesenia Ayala, Sweet Charity
Asmeret Ghebremichael, Sweet Charity
Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Sweet Charity
Emily Padgett, Sweet Charity
Lyrica Woodruff, Finian’s Rainbow

Emily Padgett

Nikka Graff Lanzarone

OUTSTANDING MALE DANCER IN AN OFF BROADWAY SHOW:
Ato Blankson-Wood, The Total Bent
Brandon Espinoza, Baghdaddy
Curtis Wiley, The Total Bent
Cody Williams, Sweet Charity
Blake Zolfo, Kid Victory

Blake Zolfo

Ted Burnetti, Chita Rivera

 

The 2017 Awarding Committee includes:
Ted Chapin
Sylviane Gold
Anna Kisselgoff
Robert La Fosse
Donna McKechnie
Wendy Perron
Lee Roy Reams
 
Broadway Nominating Committee included:
Chair: Wendy Federman
Nikki Atkins
Melissa Atwood
Ted Chapin
Don Correia
Sandy Duncan
Sylviane Gold
Jonathan C. Herzog
        Anna Kisselgoff
        Donna McKechnie
        Michael Milton
        Mary Beth O’Connor
        Laura Penn
        Wendy Perron
        Lee Roy Reams
        Andy Sandberg
Off Broadway Nominating Committee included:
Jonathan Herzog
Robert La Fosse
Michael Milton
Andy Sandberg
Randi Zuckerberg
Film Committee includes:
Co-Chairmen: Rex Reed and Jonathan Herzog
Wilhelmina Frankfurt
Joanna Ney
Mary Beth O’Connor
Andy Sandberg
ADM21, founded in 2012, is dedicated to creating a living and vibrant archive of classic and current notable musical theater choreography. ADM21 is continuing the legacy of the late Lee Theodore, who established The American Dance Machine in 1976. Theodore created a “Living Archive” of musical theater dance to address her belief that “many great choreographic works are lost with the musical they once embellished.” Of concern was that the artistry of each dance would vanish with the artists who created them. That was the impetus that drove The American Dance Machine from its pilot program in 1976 to its final days following the death of Lee Theodore in the late 1980’s.
 
For more information, please visit: www.ADM21.org