Race cast member Richard Thomas announced the nominees at a special cocktail reception at Elaine's Restaurant. The Astaire Awards will be presented June 7 at the Gerald Lynch Theater at the John Jay College New York.
The Astaire Awards recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. Contributions in film are also honored.
The 2010 Astaire Award nominees follow:
Stage Categories
Choreographers
Bill T. Jones (Fela!)
Twyla Tharp (Come Fly Away)
Sergio Trujillo (Memphis)
Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Ragtime)
Steven Hoggett (American Idiot) Male Dancers
Charlie Neshyba-Hodges (Come Fly Away)
Keith Roberts (Come Fly Away)
John Selya (Come Fly Away)
Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Burn the Floor)
Memphis Male Ensemble (Brad Bass, Kevin Covert, Bryan Fenkart, Rhett George, John Jellison, John Eric Parker, Jermaine R. Rembert, Ephraim Sykes, Cary Tedder, Daniel J Watts, Charlie Williams, James Brown III, Tyron Jackson)
Female Dancers
Karine Plantadit (Come Fly Away)
Laura Mead (Come Fly Away)
Holley Farmer (Come Fly Away)
Savannah Wise (Ragtime)
Nicole Chantal de Weever (Fela!)
Fela! Female Ensemble (Hettie Vyrine Barnhill, Lauren de Veaux, Elasea Douglas, Rujeko Dumbutshena, Catherine Foster, Shaneeka Harrrell, Chanon Judson, Shakira Marshall, Afi McClendon, Jill Vallery, Iris Wilson, Aimee Graham Wodobode)
Film Categories
Choreographer (Fictional Film)
Marguerite Derricks "Fame"
Rob Marshal and John Deluca "Nine"
Lula Washington "Avatar"
Director (Documentary Dance Film)
Kenny Ortega "This is It"
Frederick Wiseman "La Danse, Le Ballet de l'Opera de Paris"
Ruedi Gerber "Breath Made Visible"
Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern "Every Little Step"
The nominating committee included former New York Times chief dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, Dance Magazine editor in chief Wendy Perron, dance columnist Sylviane Gold, and former New York City Ballet dancer and Vail Institute artistic director Damian Woetzel.
As previously reported, Emmy Award-winning "High School Musical" director and choreographer Kenny Ortega will receive the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award. 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 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.
