Hadestown, Alice By Heart, & King Kong are Winners at Chita Rivera Awards, Honoring Choreography

May 20, 2019:   Last night, Tony Award winners, Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen, co-hosted the third annual Chita Rivera Awards, honoring dance and choreography.  Broadway’s Hadestown  and the Off-Broadway production of Alice by Heart, took home the outstanding choreography awards in Theater.

The event at The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts honored ten-time Tony nominee Graciela Daniele with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Cher and producers Jeffrey Seller and Flody Suarez were honored with the Ambassador for the Arts Award for their contribution to the convergence of theatre, film, and television.

Four-time Tony winner  George C. Wolfe  (Angels In America, Jelly’s Last Jam, Broadway’s current Gary) received the SDC Director Award, which is presented annually to directors for their exemplary collaboration with choreographers on Broadway.

Presenters for the evening included: Chita Rivera, Andy Blankenbuehler, Camille A. Brown, Ariana DeBose, Luann de Lesseps, Micaela Diamond, Damon J. Gillespie, Savion Glover, Marilu Henner, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tiler Peck, Lee Roy Reams, Michael Riedel, Ethan Slater, Mary Testa and Richard Thomas.

The 2019 Chita Rivera Awards were produced by Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. in conjunction with Patricia Watt.

The Complete List of Winners
Photography: Barry Gordin

BROADWAY:

Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show:
David Neumann, Hadestown

Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show:
Ephraim Sykes, Ain’t Too Proud

Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show: (tie)
Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, The Cher Show
Gabrielle Hamilton, Oklahoma!

Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show:
King Kong

OFF-BROADWAY:

Outstanding Choreography
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, Alice By Heart

Outstanding Male Dancer
Wesley Taylor, Alice By Heart

Outstanding Female Dancer
Irina Dvorovenko, The Beast in the Jungle

Outstanding Ensemble
Smokey Joe’s Café, Steven Baruch, Mark Routh, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel

FIL M:

Theatrical Release
Mary Poppins Returns (Release date, December 19, 2018, Emily Blunt, Lum-Manuel Miranda Choreographers: Rob Marshall & John DeLuca; Co-Choreographer, Joey Pizzi; Associate Choreographer, Tara Nichole Hughes, Assistant Choreographer: Marlon Pelayo

Documentaries 
Moving Stories, Lives Transformed By Dance (Release Date, August 11, 2018, Battery Dance Festival, MoMa)
Director: Rob Fruchtman, Wilderness Films, Producer