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Broadway's Best Dancers Gather on the Red Carpet at the Chita Rivera Awards
May 17, 2024
Broadway dance legends united for the 2022 Chita Rivera Awards, which honored outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensemble in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film that opened pre-Covid as well as in the 2021-2022 season. Watch video coverage as BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge hits the red carpet to chat with the nominees and the great Chita Rivera herself.
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0:00
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
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We're on the red carpet for the 2022 Cheetah Rivera Awards, where we caught up with many of this year's nominees and presenters
0:09
How excited are you? It's 22. We're back at the Cheetah Rivera Awards
0:14
How excited are you, Cheetah? I'm very excited, you know. The older you get, the calmer you get
0:22
But it's time. It's time. And there's a whole new. batch of kids out there
0:32
And let's hope that we can keep it going. That's all. Just keep it going
0:38
How excited are you getting the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cheetah Rivera Award
0:42
I mean, from Cheetah herself. Yeah, exactly. What that means to you, Joe
0:47
Well, I mean, I, I, the two of us grew up together in this business
0:54
And she's such a great dancer. And I'm an actor who dances
1:00
So I got away with it. And they're giving you an award for it. Yes
1:06
I'm so excited. I'm here to help present for Joel Gray, getting the Lifetime Achievement Award
1:13
So I'm from the Yiddish Fiddler production and here with a couple other people from our company to honor Joel
1:20
I came to MJ with a lot of raw talent. You know, I never had a dance lesson in my life
1:26
You know, I was self-taught everything. And so being here has just shown me how much I can grow in such a short amount of time
1:33
especially with the help of Christopher Wilden and Richington Talauego and Camille Upshaw and Raymond Bainar who really helped me hone in that raw potential that I had and really made it into an art form that I can clearly express you know Michael movements and my movements and you know express myself
1:53
And so to be here is surreal. The moment that we just had with seeing Cheetah and Joel together, Joel Gray together, legends
2:00
Legends. For me, it's very special because it's my first time being able to attend
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And I was nominated for an American in Paris and won a few years ago
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and I couldn't come. So tonight, I'm finally here. And I'm really excited to be sharing this evening
2:14
with the dance community. People ask me all the time, which is like, what do you prefer, television or theater
2:19
Like, I prefer working so shut up. But like, there's nothing like the theater. Really
2:27
There's nothing like the theater. So happy to be back, so happy to be dancing
2:30
and Broadway to be open, and so happy to honor And Cheetah, I mean, there's nothing better than that
2:37
And dance. Anything for her and here to celebrate all dancers, all dancers who have chosen this path
2:43
Oh, I'm excited. It's so funny. I wanted to come and I didn't get a ticket. And then I let it go
2:48
And then Mamie Duncan Gibbs called me today and said, want to come to Cheetah
2:52
You know, I was like, oh my God, the universe heard me. So, yeah, I'm very happy to be here
2:56
Very excited and grateful to be. Back with my colored girls family
3:01
Yes. Ditto. I'll back that up. It's really an honor and a joy to be with the group
3:09
I agree and we also very excited for Tendai for her many nominations tonight as a featured dancer and for American Utopia So we just celebrating Huge celebration So nice to be together with the sisters again I miss seeing you guys every night so it wonderful You here tonight for Stop How excited are you guys to be here
3:30
Very excited. It's going to be a great experience and to be able to celebrate all the awardees and people who are going to be receiving the great awards and honors today
3:38
It's going to be good. Yeah, it's definitely an honor to be here and it's exciting. It's a great night
3:42
You're about to bring dancing to Broadway. Yes. I mean, talk about you were just where the old globe
3:48
The old globe. We were there for like, I don't know, six weeks, two months we played
3:53
Incredible response, just really an honor to do it. And, you know, make it come back alive
3:58
It was 40 years old, 45 years old, and we needed to get it up into this generation
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so people could find out who Bob Fosse is. I'm excited every year because we're honoring dancers
4:11
As I have said for decades, they are the backbone of the industry
4:16
and I came along in 1969 in the ensemble of Sweet Charity
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and that's when dancers had to start singing, and singers had to start dancing
4:26
because the cast were getting smaller, and people had to do more. And nowadays, we have these brilliant, talented kids
4:34
that sing, dance, act, move, scenery, play instruments. They floor me with their talents
4:43
And you go to any Broadway show now and watch everyone on that stage
4:48
They are technically flawless. I feel honored, and I'm definitely feeling this vibe
4:53
in the Cheetah Rivera Award ceremony here at NYU Skirbow Hall. It's going to be an exciting night
4:58
and I looking forward to see who walks away with these awards I nominated for a female outstanding dancer for Jagged Little Pill How how exciting is that it It so cool I can take it I gagged
5:11
I mean I can believe it of course she's the best I mean what this is the best
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dancer in New York sorry everybody look this is I mean this is this is legendary
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he's like one of like the the OG Chidera Vera boy classic this is it I mean
5:28
right here oh my god you are witnessing history right here We go back to night
5:32
I grew up to, I wanted to be like Robert. Oh my God
5:36
Well, that's very, very kind of you and Sergio. And we were roommates together while we were doing Cheater's Show. Yes
5:42
What was it? No, 1999? 1998. 8, 19908, somewhere around there. And we decided, you know, hey, you know, we got along
5:50
Let's be roommates. We had a fun time, then. Really exciting about these awards are you look beyond Broadway
5:56
you look into the documentary world of dance, into the film world of dance
6:00
and you bring everybody to you to be roommates. together and that's the excitement as I've been talking to all these people on Ms. Carpet
6:05
They are thrilled beyond belief to be here nominated for these special awards
6:09
Well, I'm glad because they should be. And it's another door that's open to the arts
6:19
And that's what we want. You know, that's what you want to do your craft and to do it absolutely everywhere
6:29
I love Cheetah. I love Cheetah. I think that this is probably equivalent, if not better, to the Tony's and well-deserved
6:37
She gives an opportunity to all who are lovers of the arts to realize that they have their value and worth
6:46
We give you the Cheetah Awards
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