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The Astaire Awards are authorized under a special agreement between Mrs. Fred Astaire and TDF. "I know Fred would be proud that his artistic achievement serves as a symbol of excellence to so many talented Astaire Award recipients today and over the last two decades," said Robyn Astaire.
This marks Ms. Stroman's fourth TDF/Astaire Award. Last year she became the first person ever to win three TDF/Astaire Awards, and this year she broke her own record. Her first was in 1995 for Show Boat, her second was presented in 2000 for her combined work in The Music Man and Contact, and her third was presented last year, 2001, for her choreography of The Producers.
This year's ceremony, directed and choreographed by Robert Bianca, celebrated "the education of the Broadway dancer" by honoring the dance teachers who train hundreds of Broadway hopefuls each year. Four dance teachers will also be honored at the ceremony as ambassadors representing the many teachers who commit their lives to bringing up the next generation of Broadway dancers. They are: the jazz dance teachers, Frank Hatchett, whose style is a blend of strength and get-down street smart feeling based on centeredness and individual interpretation of the music, and Phil Black, whose classes work in many styles from Broadway to bebop, Latin to lyrical and tap. Then there's the legendary Luigi, who has taught thousands of dancers during the past 50 years and is called "one of the founders of Broadway jazz dance"! Kirov Ballet trained Madame Gabriela Taub-Darvash has been teaching ballet for over 25 years and has been praised for her ability to create beautiful, strong, artistically expressive dancers.
The Astaire Awards, established in 1982 by the Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation and administered by Theatre Development Fund since 1991, recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season on the part of a dancer or dancers and choreographer. The awards were 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 musicals were: Over the Top (1917), The Passing Show of 1918, Apple Blossoms (1919), Love Letter (1921), For Goodness Sake (1922), The Bunch & Judy (1922), Lady Be Good (1924), Funny Face (1927), Smiles (1930) and The Band Wagon (1931).
The TDF/Awards 2002 Committee includes: Douglas Watt, New York Daily News (emeritus) chairman; Clive Barnes, New York Post; Howard Kissel, New York Daily News; Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press; Donald McDonagh, Ballet Review; Richard Philp, Dance Magazine, Charles L. Reinhart, director of the American Dance Festival; and Linda Winer, Newsday.
The nominees for the TDF/Astaire Awards 2002 were: Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Susan Stroman (Oklahoma!) and Christopher Wheeldon (Sweet Smell of Success) for "Best Choreographer"; Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Josefina Gabrielle (Oklahoma!) and Kate Levering (Thou Shalt Not) for "Best Female Dancer;" and Vernel Bagneris (One Mo'Time), Justin Bohon (Oklahoma!) and Norbert Leo Butz (Thou Shalt Not) for "Best Male Dancer."
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Earlier this evening the TDF/Astaire awards were presented at the Hudson Theatre in New York City. The awards, founded in 1982, are presented annually for the "Best Dance on Broadway" in the categories of Best Choreographer, Best Female Dancer and Best Male Dancer. The ceremony was hosted by Ann Reinking, a former TDF/Astaire winner for Chicago, who also presented Susan Stroman with the award for Best Choreographer for Oklahoma!. Other presenters were Cady Huffman and Hinton Battle, who presented the awards for Best Male and Best Female Dancer to Justin Bohon for Oklahoma!, and Sutton Foster for Thoroughly Modern Millie.
