As the only awards dedicated specifically to dance, the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards – founded as the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards in 1982, and renamed in 2017, after the Tony-winning icon (1933-2024) – is to recognize and to promote dance and choreographic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in film. Today (Thursday, April 30) at 10 am, nominations were announced for the 2026 awards.
This year’s Broadway Nominating Committee is comprised of Melinda Atwood, Caitlin Carter, Gary Chryst, Don Correia, Sandy Duncan, Peter Filichia, Dr. Louis Galli, Sylviane Gold, Jonathan Herzog, Robert La Fosse, Joe Lanteri, Donna McKechnie, Michael Milton, Mary Beth O’Connor, Wendy Perron, Stephanie Pope, Lee Roy Reams, Desmond Richardson, Andy Sandberg, and Randy Skinner, and the Film Nominating Committee consists of Jonathan C. Herzog, Steven Caras, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, Mary Beth O’Connor, and Andy Sandberg. There are no nominees for the Off-Broadway Awards, which will only have winners selected by the Awarding Committee of Sylviane Gold, Gary Chryst, Robert La Fosse, Donna McKechnie, Wendy Perron, Stephanie Pope, and Lee Roy Reams. For the 2025-26 season, eligible productions must have been seen by the nominators and awards voters by April 26, 2026.
Because the Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show is a gender-free category, there are twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and there will be two winners. In addition to the competitive categories, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Ann-Margret will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her six-decade-long career on the stage and screen, and the hit Off-Broadway show Gotta Dance! is this year’s recipient of The Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award. Named for the longtime Daily News theater critic and his wife, the award is bestowed by the Broadway Judging Committee to recognize outstanding work that falls outside the framework of the original categories.
And the nominations for the 2026 Chita Rivera Awards are:
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!; Lorin Latarro, Chess; Ellenore Scott, Ragtime; Ellenore Scott, Titaníque; Ani Taj, The Rocky Horror Show; Omari Wiles/Arturo Lyons, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW: Jonathan Burke, CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Baby Byrne, CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Max Clayton, Schmigadoon!; Zachary Downer, Schmigadoon!; Sydney James Harcourt, CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Dava Huesca, CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Robert “Silk” Mason, CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Isabelle McCalla, Schmigadoon!; Sarah Meahl, Chess; Constantine Rousouli, Titaníque; Layton Williams, Titaníque; Lyrica Woodruff, Schmigadoon!
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW: CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Chess; Ragtime; Schmigadoon!; The Rocky Horror Show; Titaníque
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A FEATURE FILM: Kiss of The Spider Woman, Choreographers Sergio Trujillo/Christopher Scott; Michael, Choreographers Anthony Talauega/Richmond Talauega; Sinners, Choreographer Aakomon Jones; The Testament of Ann Lee, Choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall; Wicked For Good, Choreographer Christopher Scott
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DANCE DOCUMENTARY: Dick Van Dyke, 100th Celebration, Director Steve Boettcher; Martha Graham Dance Company: We Are Our Time, (Part I, “American Spirit”, Part II, “Athletes of God,” Directors Peter Schnall/Cyndee Readdean; Playing The Palace, Director Cody Williams; Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, Director Linus O’Brien; Tango My Passion, Director Dr. Monika Krajewska
THE DOUGLAS ND ETHEL WATT CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD: Gotta Dance!
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ann-Margret.
Congratulations to the nominees and honorees for the recognition of their outstanding contributions to dance. A “Meet the Nominees” press event will take place on May 4, at NYC’s Bond 45, and the star-studded awards ceremony, including Broadway performances and celebrity presenters, will follow on May 18, at NYU Skirball. All proceeds benefit the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation College Scholarship Program, which awards college scholarships to talented teenagers.
The Chita Rivera Awards will be presented on Monday, May 18, 2026, starting at 7:30 pm (red carpet at 6:30), at NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Place, NYC. For tickets (priced at $133-750, including fees; VIP tickets include a post-show reception), go online.
