However, as always, the\u00a0presentation deserves to be lauded, so I’m doing a\u00a0review<\/em> of their 2023 edition instead. (Just make sure to bookmark their website at the bottom of this article so you can join us next year. And hopefully I can remind you with a preview once again.)<\/p>\n One of the live dance numbers in this year’s show. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one of Anita Mann at the top of this article.<\/p><\/div>\n In an odd way, though, I\u2019m sort-of grateful that I had to wait until now so I can ask all of you to please spare a good thought for\u00a0WCA<\/em>\u00a0winner Derek Hough’s wife and fellow dancer, Hayley Ebert. In case you don’t know, they were on tour with his dance show two weeks ago when all of a sudden, Hayley got disoriented and had to be rushed to the hospital. Her brain was bleeding, so they had to cut out part of her skull! The operation appears to have been successful, knock on wood, but surgery like that usually requires a long road to recovery, so Hayley is not out of the woods. (She’s actually having a second surgery this very morning, to replace the piece of her skull that they had to remove.) I’ve always heard that she’s a tough and positive girl, but I’m sure that she and her family could use as many prayers and good wishes as possible. I’m confident that the entire dance world, and Derek’s fans the world over, are pulling for them. (I’ll have some words on Derek’s award-winning work in a minute.) [Note: This week-end, Derek posted a very short video of the two of them strolling slowly in the nation\u2019s capital, which made Mr. X and my hearts sing. We watched it over and over. Haley is wearing a protective helmet in it, but we were shocked that she\u2019s already walking. That little bit of ambulating was more beautiful to me right now than all their stunning dance videos.]<\/p>\n Now back to the fun of the 2023 The\u00a0World Choreography Awards<\/em> which\u00a0took place last month, and was produced once again by Allen Walls and Cheryl Baxter-Ratliff. I\u2019m sure the dance industry is really grateful to that duo for presenting this annual celebration of their art, which few others do. To reiterate my feelings on the dance world this year (as every<\/em> year,) I feel that it’s very under-appreciated, even though the artists have some of the hardest jobs in the biz.<\/p>\n Kenny Ortega, near the left, with Toni Basil on the side of him, in a big hat and white jacket. One of the live dance numbers in this year’s show. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The whole evening was a blast! The\u00a0World Choreography Awards<\/em>\u00a0took place at the Hollywood club Avalon for the second year in a row. Since it\u2019s one of the very few opportunities for dancers and choreographers to get together like this all year, the guests started arriving almost two hours before the show began, to have a lot of time to catch-up with each other. (For the people who\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>love such a lengthy mingle, I advise to arrive closer to the time the actual\u00a0show<\/em>\u00a0is listed as.\u00a0 It usually starts at least a half hour after it\u2019s called for, which is perfect for latecomers!)<\/p>\n For most of the assemblage, half the fun of the awards night is meeting and greeting each other. This is one of the few industry awards evenings that welcomes fans along with insiders, so even if you don\u2019t know anyone\u00a0personally<\/em>, it\u2019s wonderful to see people you recognize from TV, movies, videos, and concerts in person and so up-close.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also very interesting to observe the various fashions. Because we’re celebrating\u00a0dance<\/em>, there are plenty of gowns, handsome suits, and very creative attire. But on the flip side, some people in that field feel that it’s okay to rock jeans and tees, which, in my book, it is definitely\u00a0not<\/em>! But I love witnessing it\u00a0all<\/em>.<\/p>\n Since Derek couldn’t make it to this year’s show, here’s a pic of Derek Hough and Karen Salkin at the 2022 World Choreography Awards. Photo by Derek Hough.<\/p><\/div>\n The program itself is a mix of awards and live performances. Even though I\u2019ve seen some of the\u00a0nominated and winning numbers on TV before, the short films of them are extra-amazing on the humongous screens at the venue.<\/p>\n I was thrilled to see Derek Hough win the award for \u201cOutstanding Choreography\u00a0Television Reality Show\/Competition\u201d once\u00a0again, but his being on his aforementioned tour at the time kept him from attending. However, he\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0send a recorded message from his hotel room. On a shallow note, I was thrilled to see that his tour accommodations are as basic as what most of us procure on our own!<\/p>\n The best presentation of the evening was also the absolute most emotional\u2014the \u201cLegacy Honor\u201d to titan of the industry, choreographer extraordinaire Kenny Ortega. The award was presented by multi-hyphenate Toni Basil, who’s known by the public mianly for her hit ’80s song Mickey<\/em>, (and who has been in the biz longer than most of the audience members have been alive!) She was joined in\u00a0lauding\u00a0Kenny’s very<\/em> many\u00a0accomplishments by Sofia Carson, who is an actress\/singer who mentioned that she has worked with Kenny.<\/p>\n Kent Boyd and Karen Salkin back in the day.<\/p><\/div>\n Many really fun, energetic performances, (the originals of which were choreographed by Kenny, of course,) accompanied this presentation. The crowd went wild for it all. It began with a group number from\u00a0High School Musical<\/em>, then Kent Boyd of\u00a0So You Think You<\/em> Can Dance<\/em>\u00a0fame did a brief solo from\u00a0Newsies<\/em>, and the finale was a bit of\u00a0Dirty Dancing<\/em>. My table-mates and I were happy to see that the male of that \u201cfamous lift\u201d duo was a dancer\u00a0they<\/em>\u00a0are friends with and\u00a0I\u2019m<\/em>\u00a0really familiar with–Ezra Sosa, who was first on\u00a0So<\/em> You Think You Can Dance<\/em>\u00a0and then more recently, was part of the troupe on\u00a0Dancing with the Stars<\/em>. And to cap it all off, the dancers from this entire number formed a line through the center of the audience tables, leading up to where Kenny and his guests were sitting on what I call the \u201ccouch of honor\u201d towards the back of the auditorium, and they all danced him up to the stage! It was uber-exciting. And then he and Toni were adorable together.<\/p>\n Kenny Ortega, watching the dance performances in tribute to him, before accepting the Legacy Honor. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n All the speeches during this section were fabulous, none more so than Kenny’s. Something he said really resonated with me. He quoted one of his mentors, the late great Gene Kelly, who had asked him, \u201cWhat is your reason for being?\u201d That’s such a good concept for all of us to ponder, which I did when I got home that night. Mine is to be kind to others, make their day when possible, and make the world laugh. So now please consider the question to make it all clear for yourselves. (And I’d love to read yours in the Comments section below.)<\/p>\n All that was only the end of the\u00a0first half<\/em>\u00a0of the 2023 World Choreography Awards<\/em>, but there’s no better place for me to end my review of the proceedings, to whet your appetites for next year, when I hope to see all you Angelenos there. Put the date(ish) in your 2024 appointment books right now!<\/p>\n To find-out who\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the winners were this year, and also how to join us in 2024, just go to\u00a0www.worldchoreographyawards.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WORLD CHOREOGRAPHY AWARDS 2023 I usually offer a\u00a0preview of the\u00a0World Choreography Awards, so you all can attend this wonderful celebration along with the rest of us dance lovers. But, sadly, I didn’t have enough notice this time. However, as always, the\u00a0presentation deserves to be lauded, so I’m doing a\u00a0review of their 2023 edition instead. (Just<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/thumbnail_IMG_0870a-e1703009136597.jpg\")
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