Dance awards honor new, unusual

With Hollywood presenters galore, but also a pervasive sense of family, the eighth annual American Choreography Awards celebrated dance in film and television during a 3 1/2-hour program Sunday at the Orpheum Theatre.

Despite its name, the event honored only dance-for-camera and didn’t limit eligibility to Americans. Chinese martial arts star Jackie Chan won the Innovator Award, for instance, and the prize in the feature film category went to Saroj Khan, Raju Khan, Ganesh Hegde, Vaibhavi Merchant and Terence Lewis for the splashy group dances in the Indian film “Lagaan.”

The award for achievement in television (episodic or sitcom) went to Marguerite Derricks for the episode of “That ‘70s Show” titled “That ‘70s Musical.” A tie in the TV variety or special category recognized Kenny Ortega, Sarah Kawahara and Doug Jack for the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the team of Daniel Ezralow, David Parsons and Moses Pendleton for their gymnastics as dance project “Aeros.”

Vincent Paterson won an award for his drill-team Rubbermaid TV commercial, “Soldier,” and the award for music video went to the seven artists (Anwar “Flii” Burton, Rosero McCoy, Todd Sams, Jamal Sims, Devyne Stephens, Earl “Punch” Wright, Russell “Goofy” Wright) who created Usher’s “You Don’t Have to Call” showcase.

Eloquent speeches by friends and colleagues gave the event’s special awards a memorable outpouring of feeling. Ailing L.A. dancer-choreographer-teacher Russell Clark received the Governor’s Award, veteran tap teacher and Broadway choreographer Henry LeTang the Educator Award, and film dancer Marge Champion the Career Achievement Award for herself and her late husband and partner Gower. In addition, the late Hollywood choreographer Bob Talmage received a memorial tribute. In two new categories, Ashley Roland, Jamey Hampton and Mitchell Rose won the best short film award for their whimsical “Modern Daydreams” and John Medlen the fight choreography award for an episode of the series “Alias” titled “Truth Be Told.”

Live dance segments proved variable in execution and originality, with the most indelible piece coming from the world of concert dance, a haven for American choreography ignored by the American Choreography Awards. Dancing with almost eerie perfection, Todd Burnsed and Nicole Loizides of the Momix company performed Pendleton’s duet on skis, “Millennium Skiva,” looking like liquid mercury in their silver bodysuits. However, local dancer and teacher Terry Beeman’s more conventional “Velocity” finale scored a real coup: getting genuine emotion into the dancers bodies in what initially seemed just another hard-sell pop showpiece.

Excellent compilations of dance clips also punctuated the evening, with Will Mead and Alan Johnson’s editing of the Champions’ performances and Kate Johnson’s Chan collage looking especially deft. These clips and all the awards submissions go into the archives of the Academy of Dance on Film in Hollywood.

Awards presenters included Gregory Hines, Raquel Welch, Fayard Nicholas, Nanette Fabray, Bruce Vilanch, Debi Mazar and Kathy Najimy.