GREAT COMET, BANDSTAND and More Take Home 2017 Chita Rivera Awards

Winners for the 2017 Chita Rivera Awards were announced this evening at The Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The full list of winners is available below.

The 2017 Chita Rivera Awards, directed by four-time Tony® Award nominee Randy Skinner and hosted by Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth, were produced by American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21) and its Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Nikki Feirt Atkins in association with Patricia Watt.

At the evening's ceremony, theater and dance legend Tommy Tune was presented with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, Diane Paulus was presented with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theater as Director and Antonio Vendome was presented the Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts and Humanity.

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.

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.

ADM21, founded in2012, 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.

2016-2017 Chita Rivera AWARD CHOREOGRAPHY IN FILM NOMINATIONS

Theatrical Release Nominees

Beauty and the Beast (release date, March 17, 2017) Anthony Van Laast, Choreographer

La La Land (released December 25, 2016) MAndy Moore, Choreographer

***London Road (released September 9, 2016) Javier De Frutos, Choreographer

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (released June 3, 2016) 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

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

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

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

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

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