THE 2015 FRED & ADELE ASTAIRE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

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BROADWAY'S BEST

Photos By: Patrick McMullan

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Jean Shafiroff

Warren Carlyle With Patricia Watt And Michael Riedel

The 33rd Annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards were announced by New York Post Theater Critic Michael Riedel at Villagio on the Park restaurant.

Michele Herbert With Wendy Federman

Each year since the inception of the awards in 1982, The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards honor outstanding achievement in dance and on the Broadway stage. The mission of the Awards is to honor individual dancers and choreographers for their dedication, passion and artistic vision that they bring to their performances. Festivities started with Astaire Awards Director Patricia Watt welcoming everyone to the party sharing that for the first time ever, all nominees have received a certificate celebrating their nomination. Lauren Penn then spoke and thanked Watt for everything she has done to bring dance back into the forefront of Broadway. Event emcee New York Post Theater Critic Michael Riedel started the night by sharing his admiration for all the dancers before announcing all nominees to the assembled crowd.

Randi Schatz With Cassandra Seidenfield

The nominees for Best Female Dancer are: Annaleigh Ashford (You Can’t Take It with You); Leanne Cope (American In Paris); Jill Paice (American In Paris); Megan Fairchild (On The Town); Erin Davie (Sideshow); Emily Padgett (Sideshow); XiaoChuan Xie (The King and I); Melanie Moore (Finding Neverland).

The nominees for Best Male Dancer are: Robert Fairchild (American In Paris); Clyde Alves (On The Town); Tony Yazbeck (On The Town); Jay Armstrong Johnson (On The Town); Philip Attmore (On The Twentieth Century); Rick Faugno (On The Twentieth Century); Drew King (On The Twentieth Century); Richard Riaz Yoder (On The Twentieth Century); Christian Borle (Something Rotten); Alex Sharp (The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time).

The nominees for Best Choreographer are: Christopher Wheeldon (American In Paris); Joshua Bergasse (On The Town); Christopher Gattelli (The King and I); Warren Carlyle (On The Twentieth Century); Casey Nicholaw (Something Rotten); Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly (The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time); Steven Hoggett (The Last Ship); Mia Michaels (Finding Neverland.

Notable guests at the cocktail party included: Michael Riedel (Emcee, New York Post Theater Critic); Patricia Watt (President, Astaire Awards); Clyde Alves (Nominee); Phillip Attmore (Nominee); Joshua Bergasse (Nominee); Warren Carlyle (Nominee); Erin Davie (Nominee); Megan Fairchild (On The Town); Rick Faugno (Nominee); Christopher Gatelli (Nominee); Jay Armstrong Johnson (Nominee); Drew King (Nominee); Emily Padgett (Nominee); Jill Paice (Nominee); XiaoChuan Xie (Nominee); Tony Yazbeck (Nominee); Richard Riaz Yoder (Nominee); Wendy Federman (Honorary Chair, Producer); Holt McCallany (actor); Lee Roy Reams (Board Member, Actor); Jean Shafiroff (Event Chair); Michele Herbert (Benefit Chair); Lucia Hwong Gordon.

This Year’s awards event on Monday June 1st, 2015 will begin with a VIP cocktail reception and an evening featuring musical and theatrical performances from On the Town, Finding Neverland, New York Spectacular and many more.

This year’s Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement award winner is Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe winning actor and dancer Joel Grey. American film producer and film executive Harvey Weinstein will receive the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre and Film.

The ceremony will be chaired by David Schiff and philanthropist Jean Shafiroff and proceeds from the event will benefit non-profit organization, The Douglas Watt Family Fund.

The Nominating Committee Chair for the 33rd Annual Awards is Wendy Federman, and the composition of the nominee Committee includes Nikki Atkins, Don Correia, Sandy Duncan, Wendy Federman, Jonathan Herzog-Sheffield, Judith Jamison, Anna Kisselgoff, Pia Lindstrom, Donna McKechnie, Bruce Michael, Mary McColl, Michael Milton and Mary Beth O’Connor.

About The Fred & Adele Astaire Awards

The Fred & Adele Astaire Awards Established in 1982, formerly known as The Astaire Awards, recognizes outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. 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. The Awards remain the gold standard for excellence in dance and choreography on Broadway. Since 1982, additional awards have been added to the lineup, including an award for choreography in film, a lifetime achievement award, and a unique award determined annually for exceptional contribution to the field.

For more information, visit www.theastaireawards.org