Liza Minnelli Will Host Career Transition for Dancers Gala

It has just been announced that Liza Minnelli will host That’s Entertainment!, a gala celebrating Career Transition For Dancers’ 20th anniversary, on Monday, October 24 at 7pm at City Center (131 West 55th Street in NYC).

Minnelli won a Theatre World Award for her New York stage debut in Best Foot Forward and a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in Flora, the Red Menace. She went on to star on Broadway in Chicago (as a replacement for Gwen Verdon), The Act (for which she won another Tony), The Rink, and Victor/Victoria (as a replacement for Julie Andrews). In 1969, Minnelli was nominated for an Academy Award for The Sterile Cuckoo. In 1972, she won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and an Emmy for the TV special Liza With a Z, both directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse.

Produced and directed by Ann Marie DeAngelo, and presented by Rolex, the October 24 CTFD gala will pay homage to a century of dance in American entertainment. Among those scheduled to participate are Polly Bergen, Marge Champion, Sandy Duncan, Mercedes Ellington, Bill Irwin, Lypsinka, Jane Powell, Noah Racey, Donald Saddler, Ben Vereen, and artists from American Ballet Theatre, ABT Studio Company, The Big Apple Circus, Cirque du Soleil, Complexions, Crazy Legs & Rock Steady Crew with DJ Slynkee, Dance Times Square, The Joffrey Ballet, and the Martha Graham Dance Company.

As part of this year’s gala, the Rolex Dance Award will be presented to The Joffrey Ballet and to its co-founder and artistic director, Gerald Arpino, in recognition of the company’s 50th anniversary. There will also be two awards for Outstanding Contributions to the World of Dance: to The Harkness Foundation for Dance and to Lewis S. Ranieri, chairman of American Ballet Theatre.

Gala tickets are priced at $550 and $1,000 each. They include admission to the show and to a post-performance Anniversary Waltz Supper with the Stars, auction, and dancing in the Metropolitan Ballroom of the Sheraton New York hotel. Sponsorships and tables are also available. For gala tickets, call Gary Tigner at 212-764-0172. Show only tickets will be available beginning August 29; they may be purchased at the box office, by calling 212-581-1212, or through www.citycenter.org.

The annual event is a benefit for Career Transition For Dancers. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, the organization has helped over 3,000 professional dancers identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no longer an option. For more information, visit the website www.careertransition.org.