Tony-nominated choreographer Joshua Bergasse spoke with media on the red carpet of the 2025 Chita Rivera Awards.
The award ceremony was held at the NYU Skirball Center in Manhattan on Monday, May 19th.
The mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence, preserve notable dance history, recognize past, present, and future talents, while promoting high standards in dance education and investing in the next generation.
All proceeds of the Chita Rivera Awards benefit the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation (NYCDAF), which is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) 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.
“This is such a fantastic event,” Bergasse exclaimed. “It’s my favorite event of all because it’s the dance community, everyone is happy and we all know each other.”
“We are a really close-knit community and it is really nice to celebrate each other and to be together. This is one of the few nights that we get to do that,” he added.
While he didn’t win the Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Choreographer,” his leading lady Robyn Hurder won for “Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show.”
On his Tony nomination for “Best Choreography,” he expressed, “That felt so great. It’s a wonderful feeling. I had the luncheon earlier today and I got to hang out with all of the other nominees, it was really nice.”
Bergasse also spoke about the perennial influence of Chita Rivera. “Chita Rivera was such an inspiration to me,” he admitted. “She set so many examples for so many dancers. She was the original quadruple-threat. She was so amazing and she is very missed.”
To learn more about the Broadway musical “Smash,” check out the official website.
For more information on Joshua Bergasse, follow him on Instagram.
