Astaire Awards to Honor Ortega with Lifetime Achievement Honor

By Adam Hetrick
23 Apr 2010

Emmy Award-winning "High School Musical" director and choreographer Kenny Ortega will receive the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards June 7 in Manhattan.

Tony Award-nominated Broadway veteran Lee Roy Reams will direct the evening that will feature performances by singer Robin Cofer, Evidence Dance Company and a tribute to both Ortega and Reams. Reams will perform with dancers who once performed with Fred Astaire. The event will take place at the Gerald Lynch Theater at the John Jay College New York.

Ortega is signed to direct the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. He also served as director of Michael Jackson's final concert tour, which never launched due to the pop star's untimely death, but resulted in the documentary "This Is It." Ortega worked with Gene Kelly on the films "Xanadu" and "One from the Heart." He also choreographed "Dirty Dancing," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Pretty in Pink" and "St. Elmo's Fire."

Established in 1982, the Fred & Adele Astaire Awards (formerly known as The Astaire Awards) recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. The award nominations will be announced on May 3.

The award was established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in ten Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931.

All proceeds benefit the Career Transition for Dancers. Tickets and further information are available by visiting CareerTransition.org.