Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy,Tony Dovolani, Rosie Perez, Ben Vereen, et al. Set for Astaire Awards

Tony Award winner Ben Vereen will host the Fred & Adele Astaire Awards, to be held at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College, on Monday, June 7 at 7:30pm. Lee Roy Reams will direct. The event will also serve as a benefit for The Douglas Watt Family Fund, with proceeds going to existing programs that introduce inner city youth to the world of dance.

Special guests will include Dancing with the Stars‘ Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, and Peta Roby; Grammy Award winner Roberta Flack; and actors Bob Balaban, Marge Champion, Charlotte D’Amboise, Carol Lawrence, Sondra Lee, and Rosie Perez.

The evening will also feature appearances and performances by the Broadway casts of Come Fly Away, Memphis, Fela!,Ragtimei, as well as Evidence Dance Company, and a performance by Reams.

As previously reported, director/choreographer Kenny Ortega will receive the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.

2010 Astaire Nominees include stage choreographers Bill T. Jones (Fela!), Twyla Tharp (Come Fly Away), Sergio Trujillo (Memphis), Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Ragtime), and Steven Hoggett (American Idiot). Male dancer nominees include Come Fly Away‘s Charlie Neshyba-Hodges, Keith Roberts, and John Selya; Burn the Floor‘s Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and the Memphis male ensemble. Female dancer nominees included Come Fly Away‘s Karine Plantadit, Laura Mead, and Holley Farmer; Savannah Wise for Ragtime; and Nicole Chantal de Weever and the Fela! female ensemble.

CLICK HERE FOR THEATERMANIA’S FULL STORY ON THE NOMINATIONS.

For more information, visit www.TheFredAdeleAstaireAwards.com.