In a ceremony held tonight (May 21) at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts and hosted by Jared Grimes, winners of the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards, recognizing excellence in dance and choreography on Broadway, Off Broadway, and in film, were announced for shows and films that opened during the 2022-2023 theater season. For the first time this year, three winners received awards in the now gender-free category of Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show.
Special non-competitive awards were presented to John Kander, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and BroadwayHD, founded by Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, who received the Ambassadors for the Arts Award. And Jeffrey L. Page, co-director and choreographer of this season’s 1776, was presented with the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award, named for the longtime Daily News theater critic and his wife, and bestowed by the journalists of the Chita Rivera Awards Broadway Judging Committee to recognize outstanding work that falls outside the framework of the original categories.
Among the star-studded line-up of presenters were Derek Hough, Bebe Neuwirth, Charlotte d’Amboise, Jerry Mitchell, Tony Yazbeck, John Riddle, and the Awards’ iconic namesake Chita Rivera. Live performances included dance segments from A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, New York, New York, and Only Gold. All proceeds from the event benefitted the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation College Scholarship Program, which awards college scholarships to talented teenagers.
And the recipients in the competitive categories of the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards are:
BROADWAY
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Steven Hoggett, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical;
OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Robyn Hurder, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical; Jess LeProtto, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical; Mattie Love, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’;
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Bob Fosse’s Dancin’; New York, New York;
OFF BROADWAY
OFF BROADWAY SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS: The Awarding Committee of the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards celebrated excellence in Off-Broadway musical theater by presenting the following special awards:
OUTSTANDING DANCERS IN AN OFF BROADWAY SHOW: Gaby Diaz, Only Gold; Ryan Steele, Only Gold
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN AN OFF BROADWAY SHOW: Andy Blankenbuehler, Only Gold
FILM
CHOREOGRAPHY IN FILM: Jamal Sims, for 13: The Musical;
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DOCUMENTARY RELEASE: Dan Watt, for Everybody Dance.
Congratulations to all the recipients for their outstanding contributions to dance on the stage and screen!
