Famed choreographer and director Julie Arenal to receive Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award at 2009 HOLA Awards

Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) Press Release
For immediate release, please
Contact: Manny Alfaro/A.B. Lugo (212) 253-1015 holagram@hellohola.org

CHOREOGRAPHER AND DIRECTOR
JULIE ARENAL TO ACCEPT
RAÚL JULIÁ HOLA FOUNDERS AWARD
AT 2009 HOLA AWARDS

HOLA honors the original choreographer of the
Broadway premiere of the classic musical Hair

New York, New York – Renowned dancer, choreographer and director Julie Arenal, who made a name for herself by being the choreographer of the Broadway premiere of the musical Hair, will accept the Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award at the tenth annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit on Monday, October 26, 2009 at 6:30pm at The Players, America’s oldest theatrical club, at 16 Gramercy Park South in Manhattan.

The HOLA Awards honor Latino professionals in the entertainment and media industries, as well as hand out award for outstanding work in New York’s Latino theater. The Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award is named after the late Puerto Rican actor Raúl Juliá, and is given to someone in the entertainment industry who has shown one or all of the following characteristics for which Raúl Juliá is much revered: commitment to the community, versatility in his profession, the will to make his artistic vision a reality and the creation of a body of work that has had an impact on our culture.

Julie Arenal first became well known when she was selected to choreograph the Broadway transfer of the hit musical Hair. Other Broadway credits include Boccacio and Indians. Additional stage choreography credits include Free to Be... You and Me, The Sun Always Shines for the Cool, I Took Panama, Porgy and Bess, Funny Girl, On the Move and Marat/Sade. As a director, her credits include Isabel's a Jezebel, Funny Girl, Dog Lady, On the Move and The City. In film, she has choreographed sequences in Steal Big, Steal Little; Great Expectations (1998); King of the Gypsies; and Once Upon a Time in America. She has worked with Ballet Hispánico, The Public Theater, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, New York City Opera, INTAR, Alicia Alonso's Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Duchess Theatre (London), Toho Company (Tokyo), and the Spoleto Festival (Italy).

Also being honored at the 2009 HOLA Awards are Sara Ramírez ("Grey's Anatomy," Broadway's Monty Python's Spamalot) with the HOLA Ilka Award; David Álvarez (star of Broadway’s Billy Elliot: The Musical), Ricardo Gómez (star of TV Española’s “Cuéntame cómo pasó”), Pregones Theater (for their 30th anniversary) and Univisión 41 (for 41 years of service to the community) with special recognition awards; and actor/producer Silvia Brito and actor René Sánchez for lifetime achievement. For a complete list of awardees, click here.

Sara Ramírez, of the hit TV series “Grey’s Anatomy,” will accept the HOLA Ilka Award at the tenth annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit on Monday, October 26, 2009 at 6:30pm at The Players, America’s oldest theatrical club, at 16 Gramercy Park South in Manhattan. Tickets for the 2009 HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit are $95 and can be bought through calling HOLA at (212) 253-1015 or online at www.hellohola.org.

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