FILE - In this March 1, 1977 file photo, dancer Carmen de Lavallade chats with Rudolf Nureyev after the opening night of "Nureyev at the Uris" at a party at Sardi's in New York. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday announced the recipients of the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors. They are: hip-hop artist LL Cool J, singers Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie, television writer and producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade. It‚Äôs the 40th year of the awards, which honor people who have influenced American culture through the arts. (AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez)