Frontmezzjunkies reports: Here are the Winners of the 2025 Chita Rivera Awards
Awards were held last night, Monday, May 19th, at the NYU Skirball
www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com
Last night, the 2025 Chita Rivera Awards were handed out at NYU Skirball, produced by Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc., in conjunction with Patricia Watt.
Here are the winners of this year’s Chita Rivera Awards (with the full list of winners and nominees listed below):
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW
**Patricia Delgado /Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club**
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW
**Buena Vista Social Club**
As was the case last year, the Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show category is gender-free. This category has twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories. These are the two winners.
**Kevin Csolak, Gypsy**
**Robyn Hurder, Smash**
OFF-BROADWAY SPECIAL RECOGNITION
The Awarding Committee of the 2025 Chita Rivera Awards celebrates excellence in Off-Broadway musical theater by presenting a special award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Choreography.
**Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”**
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A FEATURE FILM
**Sh’ma: A Story of Survival, Choreographer: Suki John**
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DANCE DOCUMENTARY
**A Resilient Man, Director: Stephane Carrel**
At this year’s Chita Rivera Awards, Ben Vereen received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and David Neumann (Swept Away) received the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award.
In keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered shows and films that opened during the 2024-2025 theater season.
The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, preserve notable dance history, recognize past, present, and future talents, promote high standards in dance education, and invest in the next generation.
Nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensembles in shows on Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film, that opened in the 2024-2025 season. Nominations for the productions listed below, under consideration this season, were determined by the designated nominating committee. There are separate nominating committees for Broadway and Film. There is also an awarding committee for Broadway, which determines the final nominations that are received from the Broadway nominations committee.
All proceeds of the Chita Rivera Awards benefit the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation (NYCDAF), which is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization committed to broadening performing arts awareness while advocating education and high standards of excellence in dance. This year, all funding and proceeds will support the creation of a new Chita Rivera Training Scholarship, a program of NYCDAF.
2025 CHITA RIVERA AWARD NOMINATIONS
with winners notated in **bold**
BROADWAY
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW
Joshua Bergasse, Smash
Warren Carlyle, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
**Patricia Delgado / Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club**
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Shannon Lewis, Just In Time
Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical
Rickey Tripp / DeWitt Fleming, Jr., A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW
Angélica Beliard, Buena Vista Social Club
**Kevin Csolak, Gypsy**
Carlos Falú, Buena Vista Social Club
DeWitt Fleming, Jr., A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jonathan Groff, Just In Time
**Robyn Hurder, Smash**
Héctor Juan Maisonet, Buena Vista Social Club
Ilda Mason, Buena Vista Social Club
Marielys Molina, Buena Vista Social Club
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW
A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Boop! The Musical
**Buena Vista Social Club**
Death Becomes Her
Just In Time
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Smash
FILM & DOCUMENTARY
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A FEATURE FILM
A Nice Indian Boy, Choreographers: Zina D. Mello, Breanna English, Christian Lagasse
Emilia Perez, Choreographer: Damien Jalet
**Sh’ma: A Story of Survival, Choreographer: Suki John**
Snow White, Choreographer: Mandy Moore
Wicked, Part 1, Choreographer: Christopher Scott
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DANCE DOCUMENTARY
**A Resilient Man, Director: Stephane Carrel**
Better Man, Director: Michael Gracey
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, Director: Bruce David Klein
Two Roads, Director: Susan Wittenberg
Who Cares About Pal Frenak, Director: Gloria Halasz
2024-2025 CHITA RIVERA AWARD NOMINATING COMMITTEES
Awarding Committee
Chair: Sylviane Gold, Gary Chryst, Robert LaFosse, Donna McKechnie, Wendy Perron, Stephanie Pope, and Lee Roy Reams.
Broadway Nominating Committee
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
Film Nominating Committee
Chair: Jonathan C. Herzog, Steven Caras, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, Mary Beth O’Connor, and Andy Sandberg
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ABOUT THE NYC DANCE ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc.(NYCDAF), founded in 2010 by Executive Director Joe Lanteri, is committed to broadening performing arts awareness while advocating education and high standards of excellence in dance. The Foundation invests in the next generation of professional performers by offering scholarships for secondary and college education. To date, over 500 talented teenagers have shared in over $5 million awarded directly through NYCDAF. Those recipients are represented in 50 of the most prestigious university arts programs in the country. Many have since graduated and are now represented on Broadway, as well as concert dance companies based in NYC and around the world. www.NYCDAFoundation.net
www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com
