Academy Award winner Zeta-Jones will be on hand to present Rivera with her award at The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda's annual gala March 1 at the Fairmont Southampton Resort.
In a statement Zeta-Jones, a member of the NDFB board and a Bermuda resident, said, "I am thrilled that this year's recipient of the Catherine Zeta-Jones Award is going to Chita Rivera. A woman of talent, she inspired me to do what is now my career today. For all these years she really has been, and still is the Queen of Broadway, London's West End, and beyond. The role of Velma Kelly in 'Chicago' was mine for an instant, but it will always belong to the great, beautiful Ms. Chita Rivera."
Rivera added, "I'm really excited and honored to receive the Catherine Zeta-Jones Award. Catherine is someone who is dedicated to helping shape the future of our gifted youth. I shall cherish it."
Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in 1933, Chita Rivera is one of the theatre's most acclaimed performers. She has won Tony Awards for her performances in two Kander and Ebb musicals, The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, and was also nominated for her work in Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Bring Back Birdie, Merlin, Jerry's Girls and her most recent outing, the Tony-winning revival of Nine. Rivera's other Broadway credits include the musical Seventh Heaven, her Broadway debut; Mr. Wonderful; the original production of West Side Story; and Bajour. She appeared in the film version of "Sweet Charity," starred in the world premiere of Kander and Ebb's The Visit, and also headlined Bernarda Alba at the Mark Taper Forum.
Later this season Rivera will star in the Signature Theatre Company's production of The Visit in Arlington, VA. *
The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda is "committed to making sure that those young people with the talent to success are given every opportunity to do so. The Foundation's mission is to help raise the standards of dance excellence in Bermuda by providing a year-round calendar of world-class training opportunities for the Island's dancers, teachers and choreographers."
