“Sh’ma: A Story of Survival” beat out box office hits like “Wicked,” “Snow White” and “Emilia Pérez.”
TCU Professor of Dance Suki John, Ph.D., has won the prestigious 2025 Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Feature Film for “Sh’ma: A Story of Survival,” surpassing major box office contenders such as “Wicked,” “Snow White” and “Emilia Pérez.”
Suki John first created Sh’ma for the People’s Theater of Yugoslavia in 1990.
“I really didn’t expect that,” John shared on stage at the award ceremony, after being announced as the recipient in her category. “Thank you so much to the Chita Rivera Awards and to all of you here tonight — to my fellow nominees, to the cast and crew of ‘Sh’ma,’ to my collaborators, to my mentors and my teachers.”
The Chita Rivera Awards promote and recognize dance and choreographic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in film.
A classically trained dancer with a background in ballet, theater, modern dance and film, John tells the story of her family’s survival of the Holocaust through “Sh’ma,” a powerful choreodrama that brings history to life through movement.
“John’s extraordinary achievement is a testament to her vision, persistence and deep commitment to the power of art to heal and transform,” shared Brad Garner, M.F.A., director for the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance. “We are incredibly proud of her work and grateful that TCU has been able to support this meaningful and impactful project.”
John’s natural talent was nurtured from an early age. Her mother, who once aspired to be a dancer before the Holocaust, had studied creative movement and encouraged John’s passion for dance. John began professional ballet training in the basement of The Metropolitan Opera and, by age 17, was performing internationally.
John is interviewed at the Chita Rivera Awards after receiving her honor.
The idea for ‘Sh’ma’ emerged when John was invited to choreograph a ballet for a company in the former Yugoslavia. Drawing from the stories she grew up hearing — her family’s experiences in concentration camps and their life after the war — she created a work that is both deeply personal and universally impactful.
This summer, John will present her acclaimed choreodrama across Europe, with screenings scheduled in France, Hungary and Poland.
“‘Sh’ma’ is John’s life work, and for it to be recognized with this kind of artistic honor is not only a tribute to her creative scholarship but also to her determination to tell her family’s story of survival against hate and violence,” said Amy Hardison Tully, D.M.A., Teresa Ann Carter King Dean of the College of Fine Arts.