2009 Astaire Awards: nominations announced


Nominations for the 2009 Astaire Awards were announced on 4 May 2009 at Elaine�s Restaurant by Michael Riedel of the New York Post.

These selections were made by this year�s Nominating Committee; Sylviane Gold (Theater Columnist for Dance Magazine), Anna Kisselgoff (former Chief Dance Critic of The New York Times), Wendy Perron (Editor in Chief of Dance Magazine), Linda Winer (Chief Theater Critic of Newsday) and Damian Woetzel (Former Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet).

The producers of the 2009 Astaire Awards, which recognizes excellence in dance on stage and in film, are Patricia Watt and Ron Glucksman.

The 2009 Astaire Awards Ceremony, hosted by Alan Cumming, is scheduled for 1 Jun 2009 at The Haft Auditorium at Fashion Institute of Technology. In addition to the Awards Ceremony, the night will include performances of some of the best Broadway and Hollywood dance numbers, alongside stars of the stage and screen.

Liza Minnelli will present American film director and choreographer, hailed as 'the King of the Hollywood musicals,' Stanley Donen (Singin� In The Rain, On the Town) with the 2009 Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other scheduled presenters include Tony Danza, Bebe Neuwirth and Geoffrey Rush.

The 2009 Fred & Adele Astaire Award nominees follow:

  • Best Broadway Choreographer:
  • Andy Blankenbuehler: 9 to 5: The Musical
  • Karole Armitage: Hair
  • Peter Darling: Billy Elliot, the Musical
  • Sergio Trujillo: Guys and Dolls
  • Graciela Daniele: Pal Joey
  • Best Film Choreographer:
  • Anthony Van Laast: Mamma Mia
  • Longines Fernandes: Slumdog Millionaire
  • Aakomon �AJ� Jones: Center Stage Turn It Up
  • Tracy Phillips: Make It Happen
  • Patrick de Bana and Pedro Gomes: Fados
  • Kenny Ortega: High School Musical 3
  • Todd Underwood: Were the World Mine
  • Best Female Dancer:
  • Karen Olivo: West Side Story
  • Angel Reed, Katherine Tokarz and Savannah Wise: Rock Of Ages
  • Kearran Giovanni: Guys and Dolls
  • Pia Glenn: You�re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush
  • Best Male Dancer:
  • David Alvarez: Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot - the role of Billy
  • David Bologna and Frank Dolce: Billy Elliot, the Musical - the role of Michael
  • Jeffry Denman: Irving Berlin's White Christmas
  • Matthew Risch: Pal Joey
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 m�tier 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 dance performance include: Debbie Allen, Hinton Battle, Charlotte D'Amboise, Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Natalia Makarova, Donna McKechnie, Ann Miller, Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking and Chita Rivera.

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

Last year�s honorees included Spencer Liff - Best Male Dancer on Broadway for his dancing in 'Cry-Baby'; Karen Olivo - Best Female Dancer on Broadway for her dancing in 'In The Heights'; Rob Ashford - Best Choreography on Broadway for his work in 'Cry-Baby'; and Dave Scott - Best Choreography in Film for his work in the film 'Step up 2: The Streets' as well as presenting nine-time Tony Award & two-time Astaire Award-winner 'Tommy Tune' with the first Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award.

All proceeds from the event benefit The Auditory Oral School of New York, a non-profit organization which specializes in teaching deaf and hard of hearing children to listen, talk, think and socialize in a full and barrier free environment.

Originally published on

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