Jared Grimes To Host The 2024 Chita Rivera Awards

Jared Grimes (Funny Girl) will host the Chita Rivera Awards. The 2024 Chita Rivera Awards will be presented on May 20 at 7:30pm at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place off Washington Square Park), and are produced by Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. in conjunction with Patricia Watt.

Presenters include: Debbie Allen (Fame), Shoshana Bean (Hell's Kitchen), Corbin Bleu (High School Musical, Little Shop…), Anthony Crivello (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Joel Grey(Cabaret), Huey Lewis (The Heart of Rock and Roll), and Joe Morton (Scandal, ART), Bebe Neuwirth (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Chicago), Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), David Hyde Pierce (Here We Are, Spamalot), Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan; The Adams Family), Ben Vereen (Pippin), and more.

The evening will feature performances by: Wayne Brady (The Wiz), Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked), Norm Lewis (Phantom of the Opera; Porgy and Bess), and Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon; Old Friends).

There will also be performances from the casts of Suffs, The Heart of Rock and Roll, and The Who's Tommy.

At the May 20 Awards, Bernadette Peters will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Phil LaDuca will receive the Vanguard Award, for his outstanding contribution to the international dance community, and Mayte Natalio (Suffs; How to Dance in Ohio) will receive the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics' Choice Award.

The Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics' Choice Award is bestowed by the journalists of the Chita Rivera Awards' Broadway judging committee, to recognize outstanding work that falls outside the framework of the original categories. It is named for the longtime Daily News theater critic Douglas Watt and his wife Ethel, an original cast member of Carousel and Kiss Me, Kate who later became a producer. 

The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, preserve notable dance history, recognize past, present, and future talents, while promoting high standards in dance education and investing in the next generation.

Nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensemble in shows on Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film, that opened in the 2023-2024 season. Nominations for the productions under consideration this season will be determined by the designated nominating committee. There are separate nominating committees for Broadway and Film. There is also an awarding committee for Broadway, which determines the final nominations that are received from the Broadway nominations committee.

All proceeds of the Chita Rivera Awards benefit the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation Scholarship Program. The NYCDA Foundation is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) committed to broadening performing arts awareness while advocating education and high standards of excellence in dance. 

This year, all funding and proceeds will support the creation of a new Chita Rivera Training Scholarship.

Tickets for the Chita Rivera Awards are currently on sale and can be purchased at www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com. Ticket prices are as follows: $125 for a balcony ticket to the Awards ceremony, $750 for an orchestra ticket to the Awards ceremony and admission to the pre-show red carpet cocktail party and VIP reception, and $7500 for 10 Orchestra tickets to the Awards ceremony, admission for 10 to the pre-show red carpet cocktail party & 1 table at the VIP reception.

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2024 Chita Rivera AWARD NOMINATIONS

BROADWAY

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen

Julia Cheng, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Rick and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders

Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll / The Who’s Tommy (joint nomination)

Justin Peck, Illinoise

Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Antoine Boissereau, Water for Elephants

Ben Cook, Illinoise

Chloe Davis, Hell’s Kitchen

Gaby Diaz, Illinoise

Tilly Evans-Krueger, The Outsiders

Rachel Lockhart, Illinoise

Phillip Johnson Richardson, The Wiz

Byron Tittle, Illinoise

Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise

Avery Wilson, The Wiz

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Hell’s Kitchen

Illinoise

The Heart of Rock and Roll

The Outsiders

Water for Elephants

FILM & DOCUMENTARY

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A THEATRICAL RELEASE

Barbie, Choreographer: Jennifer White

Carmen, Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied / Marina Tamayo

Color Purple, Choreographer: Fatima Robinson

Mean Girls, Choreographer: Kyle Hanagami

Wonka, Choreographer: Christopher Gattelli

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DANCE DOCUMENTARY

Daughters, Directors: Angela Patton / Natalie Rae

Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate, Directors: Benjamin Cantu / Matt Lambert

Lift, Director: David Petersen

Studio One Forever, Director: Marc Saltarelli  

Swan Song, Director: Chelsea McMullan