For television , Ashford has choreographed tributes to Andrew Lloyd Webber , Barbra Streisand , Jerry Hermann , Meryl Streep , Barbara Cook , Shirley MacLaine , and Tom Hanks for The Kennedy Center Honors . He was the choreographer for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007 and 2009 , and also a co-producer for 2011 , 2012 and 2014 . He collaborated with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann on a production number featuring Hugh Jackman and Beyoncé Knowles for The 81st Annual Academy Awards , and won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography . He also served as choreographer for the 85th Academy Awards ( 2013 ) , 86th Academy Awards ( 2014 ) , and the 87th Academy Awards ( 2015 ) . In December 2013 , Ashford was stage director and choreographer of NBC 's live television presentation , '' The Sound of Music Live ! '' , and received a DGA Award Nomination , and an Emmy Award nomination . Ashford then did the same for NBC 's '' Peter Pan Live ! '' in 2014 , for which he received another DGA Award Nomination . Asford choreographed the opening number of the 2013 Tonys , " Make it Bigger " Ashford choreographed a new production of '' Candide '' at the Theatre du Chatelet ( with subsequent productions at La Scala , Milan and The English National Opera ) . He directed '' The Barber of Seville '' for the Lyric Opera of Chicago , which began performances on February 1 , 2014 . He directed and choreographed '' Carmen '' at the Houston Grand Opera in April and May 2014
86th Academy Awards
86th Academy Awards
Rob Ashford