The Actors Fund will celebrate the late groundbreaking dancer Sono Osato in an event at Broadway's Music Box Theatre on October 14 at 11 AM. The Japanese-American ballet dancer, who created the role of Ivy Smith in the 1944 Broadway premiere of On the Town, died December 27, 2018, at age 99.

Osato began her career touring the world with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, where she was hired at age 14 and made history not only as the company's youngest dancer, but also its first American, and the first dancer of Japanese descent. She later performed with the Ballet Theater (now American Ballet Theater) in New York, as well as on Broadway.

READ: Sono Osato, Dancer Who Broke Ground in On the Town, Dies at 99

Osato was a major benefactor of Career Transition For Dancers, a program of The Actors Fund, and an advocate of supportive services for the dance community. You can RSVP for the celebration of her life and impact here.