WORLD CHOREOGRAPHY AWARDS 2025

The producers of the World Choreography Awards, (WCA,) outdid themselves with their fifteenth annual awards show this year! It was my ninth time attending the event, and I’m so glad that I made the effort to be there, as did soooo many people in the field, even in this week’s downpour. And we all dressed to impress despite the rain, so big props to us.

Once again, I majorly applaud the producers, Allen Walls and Cheryl Baxter-Ratliff, for giving choreographers their much-deserved due. And by extension, dancers get acknowledged, as well. That makes me so happy because, as I always say, dance is the most under-appreciated art. (Just go to my “Dance” section, and you’ll see how I’ve ranted about that injustice through the years.)

This year’s rendition of the World Choreography Awards were held at the Avalon in Hollywood, for the fifth time, (that I know of.) And it was extra-packed! Perhaps that was due to their Legacy Award going to none other than Paula Abdul! I must say that after seeing all the tributes to her, and clips of her long and storied career, I have a whole new appreciation for the woman! I had no idea she was that prolific! And she looked great, by the way, which is always a bonus in my book.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. You know that my linear mind has to go in order of the evening.

My friend, Marc, and I had a wonderful time even before the show began. We mingled in the happening lobby and ran into many creative people we know. At one point, I looked at the handsome man next to me, and recognized him to be none other than Hector Guerrero, who had just done the choreography for the new musical Perfect World, which I reviewed at the beginning of the month!  We had a nice meeting, which we had never done before—I had only seen him at that opening, and he had only read, (and kindly appreciated,) my review! So this was a first, (of, I hope, many,) for both of us, thanks to the WCAs!

And just as we were done taken pix of us to send to someone from that show, who should walk off the red carpet right at us but Paula Abdul herself! She and Marc had a mutual acquaintance, so they shared a nice little moment about the guy.

And the camaraderie went on like that all night. We were also warmly greeted by both Allen and Cheryl separately, and I had a wonderful moment with the most gracious woman in show biz, choreographer-extraordinaire, Anita Mann. She told me that she’s been working on a Dance Hall of Fame, which I absolutely cannot wait for. What a wonderful idea!!! It’s such a good one that I’m ashamed that I hadn’t thought of it!

The show itself was excellent. It consisted of eight categories of choreography awards with five performances interspersed at just the right intervals. That was all just right. I think we all appreciated how perfectly brief most of the acceptance speeches were, since people with this incredible body talent express themselves mostly through movement, as opposed to talking. (But I do have to acknowledge that many of the presenters spoke way too long. And about themselves! Who did they think they were—me??)

Here are some of the highlights of the entire presentation:

There were beautiful graphics and lighting throughout the production. And they showed clips of the nominated dances not only on the big screen at the back of the stage, but also on giant screens on both sides of the audience, and up high so people in the balcony could enjoy them in their more-than-full glory!

I loved the fabulous interstitial music before all the clips. (I tried to Shazam it, but no luck. If any of you were there and know what it is, please share in the Comments below.)

The show began almost on time this year, so yay for that. (Due to all the upbeat mingling, it’s usually more than a tad later than the stated start time.)

I’m so jealous of Paris Cavanagh, who won in the TV category, partly for how talented and pretty she is, with her Aussie accent, but mostly for her perfect arms!

Although she didn’t win, nominee Tanisha Scott’s choreography for a Walmart commercial featuring scores of kid dancers literally gave me chills! What a supremely gargantuan effort. I’m a former elementary school teacher, so I know firsthand how hard it is to wrangle kids to begin with, let alone get them to perform as perfectly as they did. Wow.

When I saw a clip of a JA Collective video, (“JA” I believe stands for the two guys, Jordan and Aidan, or at least it should,) I could not believe my eyes. But when they then performed on stage in person, my jaw dropped—they were sitting at a table across from each other and doing moves mostly with only their hands and arms. It was seriously the most amazing choreography I’ve ever seen!!! The crowd went nuts for them!

I must laud Paula Abdul for staying for the second half after she received her award at the end of the first. Trust me when I tell you that that doesn’t happen with show biz peeps very often. She must have been having the time of her life, reconnecting with so many dancers and choreographers she’s worked with over the years. I loved that whole reunion story. [Note: I also reported that she stayed for the entire show in my review of the 2015 event, saying how polite that was. I’m glad to see that a decade later, she’s still the same!]

And this was cute—in Paula’s acceptance speech, when she was thanking people, she said what began as the usual, “If I forgot anyone…,” but then she paused and finished, “…I’m going to kill myself!” I totally got it because that’s what I would have said! Others in that position just say things like, “…please forgive me.”  And then later, in-between awards, Paula ran up to the steps of the stage, and called-out, “Remember when I said that I’d kill myself?” And then thanked that one person she had forgotten before. And they hugged and kissed, and everyone loved it! Well done.

Before I finish here, I just want to say a word about the very recent passing of Glorya Kaufman, whom Anita Mann acknowledged in her speech. I always feel that, with her uber-generous donations, she has helped keep dance alive in Los Angeles through the years. I had seen her across the aisle from me at a dance show at the Wallis in June, and was working up the courage to approach her and thank her for doing that, just as a fan, but then the intermission was over and I thought to myself, “Next time,” which will now never come. But I add my name to the list of Ms. Kaufman’s many appreciators, and send my condolences to her family and the entire dance world.

And I thank the World Choreography Awards for making me aware of Glorya to begin with, when they honored her in 2019 with the Next Frontier of Dance Governance Award, of which she was most deserving. (If you’re curious to learn more, here’s the link to what I wrote about her in my review that year: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/danceawards-show-world-choreography-awards-2019.)

Now that you know how good this show is on so many levels, (dance, happiness, pathos, news, meeting-and-greeting, and incredible performances, to boot,) I have a feeling that all dance aficionados will make sure to join the fun next year. So please put the approximate date in your 2026 appointment books right now!  I hope to see all you Angelenos there.

Lastly, to find-out who all the winners (and nominees) are this year, just click here: www.worldchoreographyawards.com.