Nominees Announced for the 2009 Astaire Awards

Nominations have been announced for the 2009 Astaire Awards. The awards ceremony, hosted by Alan Cumming, is scheduled for June 1 at the Haft Auditorium at Fashion Institute of Technology.

And the nominees are:

Best Broadway Choreographer
Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5
Graciela Daniele, Pal Joey
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot
Sergio Trujillo, Guys and Dolls

Best Film Choreographer
Patrick De Bana and Pedro Gomes, Fados
Longines Fernandes, Slumdog Millionaire
Aakomon “AJ” Jones, Center Stage Turn It Up
Kenny Ortega, High School Musical 3
Tracy Phillips, Make It Happen
Todd Underwood, Were the World Mine
Anthony Van Laast, Mamma Mia!:

Best Female Dancer
Kearran Giovanni, Guys and Dolls
Pia Glenn, You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush:
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Angel Reed, Katherine Tokarz and Savannah Wise, Rock of Ages

Best Male Dancer
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot
David Bologna, Frank Dolce, Billy Elliot
Jeffry Denman, White Christmas
Matthew Risch, Pal Joey

These selections were made by this year’s nominating committee: Sylviane Gold theater columnist for Dance Magazine, Anna Kisselgoff former chief dance critic of The New York Times, Wendy Perron editor in chief of Dance Magazine, Linda Winer chief theater critic of Newsday and Damian Woetzel former principal dancer, New York City Ballet.

In addition to announcing the winners, the 2009 ceremony will feature Liza Minnelli presenting American film director and choreographer Stanley Donen Singin’ In The Rain, On the Town with the 2009 Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award. Other scheduled presenters include Tony Danza, previous winner Bebe Neuwirth and Exit the King star Geoffrey Rush.

Previous winners of awards for dance performance include Debbie Allen, Hinton Battle, Charlotte d'Amboise, Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Natalia Makarova, Donna McKechnie, Ann Miller, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera and Scott Wise father of current nominee Savannah Wise. Previous winners for choreography include George Balanchine, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Wayne Cilento, Graciela Daniele, Bob Fosse, Peter Martins, Ann Reinking, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman and Tommy Tune.

The Astaire Awards, established 26 years ago by the Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation, recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. The awards were established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in 10 Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931. In 2008 the Awards were expanded to include dance in choreography for film as this was the métier that brought Fred Astaire to international fame and a permanent slot on every list of the top movie stars of the century.