. CJay Philip, founder and artistic director of the multidisciplinary ensemble Dance & Bmore, will receive the 2024 Excellence in Theatre Education Award on June 16 at the Tony Awards in New York City. “There’s this power in the arts to reconnect us to one another and to our humanity,” she told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. “There’s a civic duty that I have as a creative to contribute.
The Albany, New York, native made her Broadway debut in “Big the Musical” in 1996 and was dance captain for the original “Hairspray” directed by Jack O’Brien. She has toured as Lorrell in “Dreamgirls” and Paulette in “Legally Blonde.” As a sign of her versatility and range, she was the second assistant stage manager in “Street Corner Symphony,” as well as ready-to-go-on for three of the leads at a moment's notice and do split leaps.