Photo Flash: Duke Ellington Center for the Arts' Tribute to Donald Saddler

The legendary choreographer/dancer/theatre director Donald Saddler was awarded the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts' 1st Annual Duke Ellington "Beyond Category" Award at a special tribute performance last night (Monday, June 13, 2011) in Merkin Concert Hall at the Elaine Kaufman Center in New York City. The award show was a fund-raiser in support of the Duke Ellington Arts Scholarship Fund.

Renowned pianists Frank Owens and Jon Weber, who had never before performed together, provided an evening of sensational dual piano artistry as they performed numbers reflecting the changing musical tastes of the six decades in which Saddler performed, choreographed and directed on Broadway, on television and in feature films.

The evening was produced and hosted by Mercedes Ellington, the renowned choreographer/dancer who worked with Saddler on several productions, including No. No Nanette in the 1970s. Ms. Ellington, granddaughter of the legendary Duke Ellington and Founder and President of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, assembled a "cast" of dance world luminaries whose careers were influenced by Donald Saddler. They included former Bolshoi and New York City prima ballerina Valentina Kozlova, who starred in the Broadway revival of On Your Toes with Saddler in the early 1980's; Marge Champion, a longtime friend of Saddler's who danced with him ten years ago on Broadway, in the revival of Follies (2001), and more recently on the stage of Merkin Concert Hall three years ago-as seen in the documentary Keep Dancing, released in 2010; Helen Gallagher, another long time friend and collaborator of Saddler, who gave Ms. Gallagher her first opportunity to choreograph when he hired her to work with him as an assistant on a Shakespeare in the Park production more than 30 years ago; and Carmen De Lavillade, a modern dancer who was hired by Saddler to perform a ballet with him when she was just starting out. "It was an exciting moment that I have never forgotten," she recalled. Other reminiscences were provided by Virginia Sandifur and Kate Irving, daughter of Saddler's longtime friend, actor George S. Irving.