Ben Vereen Hosts Astaire Awards Tonight, 6/7

The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards will once again recognize excellence in dance on both stage and film. This year's Awards gala will take place June 7, 2010 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue (between 58th and 59th Streets) New York City 10019.

The gala evening will begin with a VIP cocktail reception at 6pm with the Awards Presentation and Show at 7:30pm. The evening is presented by Patricia Watt, Producer of the awards, Ava Astaire and The Douglas Watt Family Fund for the Performing Arts. Tony Award winner Ben Vereen will host. This year's Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to legendary director and choreographer, Kenny Ortega. Awards will also be given to honor the best dancers and choreographers on stage & on film.

The evening's highlights will include performances by cast members of FELA, COME FLY AWAY, RAGTIME, and MEMPHIS; Ronald K. Brown's acclaimed Evidence, A Dance Company performing a number to commemorate their 25th Anniversary; "Dancing With The Stars" Tony Dovolani, Cheryl Burke and Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Roby ;Tony Award nominated actor, director and choreographer Lee Roy Reams performing with the ladies who once danced with Mr. Astaire; a special music and dance tribute to Kenny Ortega featuring a number of surprise guest artists and appearances by dance legends Marge Champion, Carol Lawrence and Sondra Lee. Bob Balaban, Rosie Perez and Honorary co-chair of the Awards Roberta Flack will participate in the presentation of the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award to Kenny Ortega. Also on the presenters list is Charlotte d'Amboise The evening is directed by Lee Roy Reams and produced by Patricia Watt. Co-director and Choreographic Consultant is Joe Lanteri. Associate Producer and Choreographer for the Michael Jackson Tribute is Bronwen Carson. Writer is Randall David Cook and Finale Ch0reographer is Tricia Brouk.

Honorary Chairs for the Awards Gala are Roberta Flack, The Countess LuAnn deLesseps, and Bruce Michael; Gala Co-chairs are Robin Cofer, Carolyn Kendall Buchter, Sara Johnson, Joe Lanteri and Cassandra Seidenfeld-Lyster.

The gala awards ceremony was to have benefited Career Transition for Dancers, a not-for-profit organization that enables dancers to define their career possibilities and develop the skills necessary to excel in a variety of disciplines. The Fred & Adele Astaire Awards honors excellence in dance on both stage and screen.

For a complete list of this year's nominees, click here.

Douglas Watt, who inspired the prize, spent nearly 6 decades as a Broadway theatre critic for The Daily News. Watt was instramental in convincing producer Cheryl Crawford to bring the New Jersery revival of PORGY AND BESS to Broadway in 1941, helping to solidify the show's landmark place in history. Watt was one of the foundered of the Drama Desk Awards and served on the nominating committee for both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Awards. Watt died at the age of 95 on September 29, 2009.

The Astaire Awards, established 26 years ago by the Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation, recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. The awards were established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in 10 Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931. In 2008 the Awards were expanded to include dance in choreography for film as this was the métier that brought Fred Astaire to international fame and a permanent slot on every list of the top movie stars of the century.

Previous winners of awards for choreography are such legends as George Balanchine, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Wayne Cilento, Graciela Daniele, Bob Fosse, Peter Martins, Ann Reinking, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman, and Tommy Tune.