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DUKE
ELLINGTON CENTER
FOR THE ARTS
PRESENTED ITS 1ST ANNUAL DUKE ELLINGTON
“BEYOND CATEGORY” AWARD
TO LEGENDARY DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER DONALD SADDLER
MONDAY, JUNE 13, AT MERKIN CONCERT HALL
Music Provided by Piano Greats Frank Owens and Jon Weber
In a “Battle of the Hands” Duel between Piano Virtuosos;
Vocalists Adam Wade and Catherine Russell and
Ballroom Dancers Sasha Chernositov and Regina Maziarz Also
Performed
Saddler Toasted by Some of His Former Theatre and Ballet
Collaborators, Including
Marge Champion, Helen Gallagher, Carmen De Lavallade,
Valentina Kozlova,
Virginia Sandifur and Mercedes Ellington
New York,
NY,
June 13, 2011
--The legendary choreographer/dancer/theatre director
Donald Saddler was awarded the Duke Ellington Center
for the Arts’ 1st Annual Duke Ellington
“Beyond Category” Award at a special
tribute performance last night (Monday, June
13, 2011) in Merkin Concert Hall at the Elaine
Kaufman Center in New York City. The award show was a
fund-raiser in support of the Duke Ellington Arts
Scholarship Fund.
Renowned pianists Frank Owens and Jon Weber,
who had never before performed together, provided an evening
of sensational dual piano artistry as they performed numbers
reflecting the changing musical tastes of the six decades in
which Saddler performed, choreographed and directed on
Broadway, on television and in feature films.
The evening was produced and hosted by Mercedes Ellington,
the renowned choreographer/dancer who worked with Saddler on
several productions, including No. No Nanette in
the 1970s. Ms. Ellington, granddaughter of the legendary
Duke Ellington and Founder and President of The Duke
Ellington Center for the Arts, assembled a “cast” of
dance world luminaries whose careers were influenced by
Donald Saddler. They included former Bolshoi and New York
City prima ballerina Valentina Kozlova, who starred
in the Broadway revival of On Your Toes with Saddler
in the early 1980’s; Marge Champion, a longtime
friend of Saddler’s who danced with him ten years ago on
Broadway, in the revival of Follies (2001), and more
recently on the stage of Merkin Concert Hall three years
ago—as seen in the documentary Keep Dancing, released
in 2010; Helen Gallagher, another long time friend
and collaborator of Saddler, who gave Ms. Gallagher her
first opportunity to choreograph when he hired her to work
with him as an assistant on a Shakespeare in the Park
production more than 30 years ago; and Carmen De
Lavillade, a modern dancer who was hired by Saddler to
perform a ballet with him when she was just starting out.
“It was an exciting moment that I have never forgotten,” she
recalled. Other reminiscences were provided by Virginia
Sandifur and Kate Irving, daughter of Saddler’s
longtime friend, actor
George S. Irving.
Throughout the evening, as host, Mercedes Ellington
was supposedly speaking by cell phone to Donald Saddler, who
currently resides in The Actor’s Home in Englewood, NJ, and
was not well enough to attend last night’s tribute, the
dynamic piano virtuosos Jon Weber and Frank Owens
entertained the Merkin Concert Hall audience with their
interpretations of musical selections from such Broadway
musicals as Fancy Free, On The Town, Follies, The Robber
Bridegroom, No, No Nanette and On Your Toes –
shows closely associated with Donald Saddler’s illustrious
career. Following each tribute by the guests toasting Mr.
Saddler, the dueling pianists “duked” it out with selections
from those productions as well as from Babes in Arms,
Love Me Tonight, Jumbo and some of their own surprises.
Throughout the evening, singers Adam Wade and
Catherine Russell came onstage to perform several other
songs from productions associated with Donald Saddler.
Focusing on Saddler’s artistry as a dancer and
choreographer, Sasha Chernositov and Regina
Maziarz, two brilliant young ballroom dancers provided
by Melanie La Patin and Dance Times Square,
performed four beautiful dance routines that received
standing ovations.
The evening came to an exciting end when Ms. Ellington
unveiled the first Duke Ellington “Beyond Category” (Top
Hat) Award that will be delivered to Donald Saddler this
week. The award, a beautiful glass trophy hand engraved with
an image of Duke Ellington wearing his signature top hat,
was designed by Joel Iskowitz and hand engraved by
Joseph Callari,
Reaffirming its commitment to support individual excellence”
beyond category,” The Duke Ellington Center for
the Arts this year established a charitable endowment to
fund scholarships for arts education. The endowment supports
scholarships through The Duke Ellington “Beyond Category”
Award, which was presented last night to its first honoree,
Donald Saddler. Nicknamed “The Top Hat,” the award will be
presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated
achievements beyond category. The Award recipient determines
the school to receive each year’s scholarship. Mr. Saddler
will identify that school within the next four to six weeks.
Initial funding for this endowment was made by Joanne
Woodward, the multi-talented award winning actress
and friend of Duke Ellington, through the Fairfield
County Community Foundation, a Connecticut-based
charity.
Mercedes Ellington
produced and directed the tribute to Donald Saddler. Russ
Weatherford, a Board member of The Duke Ellington Center
for the Arts, wrote the script. Femi Sarah Heggie was
the stage manager. Other members of the production team
included Kent Drake, Marilyn Lester and Dr. Otto
Starzmann. Les Schecter and LS Communications
provided the publicity and public relations.
The Duke Ellington “Beyond Category” Award
is one of many honors Donald Saddler has received in a
remarkable career that began in 1937. They include two Tony
Awards, one Drama Desk Award, as well as numerous
nominations and Lifetime Achievement Awards. He is a
founding member of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT)
and a contemporary of Duke Ellington who eventually became
the mentor of Duke’s granddaughter, Mercedes. As a
director, Saddler’s involvement in musical theatre, feature
films and television productions pertaining to the world of
dance marked the industry for decades. Even at the age of
81, he enchanted Broadway audiences by performing the
adagio in the Broadway revival of Follies with
Marge Champion. The subject of several
documentaries and TV specials, Donald’s love of dance was
the theme of the highly regarded 2010 film Keep Dancing.
Donald Saddler is truly an artist “beyond Category”!
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