The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards have been rebranded to celebrate the legacy of Broadway legend Chita Rivera. The inaugural Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography, presented by American Dance Machine for the 21st Century, will be given September 11 at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Nominations will be announced May 1 at the Friar鈥檚 Club.
The ceremony is traditionally held in May, but the board of directors revealed in March that this year鈥檚 awards were postponed and would be relaunched in the fall.
鈥淲hat a wonderful surprise it was when I heard about this award in my name,鈥� said Rivera in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to encourage young dancers and choreographers鈥hey are our future. And ADM21 is doing just that.鈥�
This year鈥檚 awarding committee consists of dance writer Sylviane Gold, former Alvin Ailey Artistic Director Judith Jamison, former New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, dancer and choreographer Anna Kisselgoff, former New York City Ballet principal dancer Robert La Fosse, Tony winner Donna McKechnie, former Dance Magazine editor-in-chief Wendy Perron, and Tony nominee Lee Roy Reams.
The awards honor excellence in dance and choreography on both stage and screen.
