DANCE

Televised Dance Awards Attract Controversy: A troubled made-for-television dance awards show held in San Diego attracted some big names and featured some conspicuous absences Friday night. The names of the top winners had been released in advance and a few of the leading contenders had pulled out of the competition after their nominations were announced. The show, sponsored by the newly formed National Academy of Dance and scheduled to air in July, was intended as a tribute to the artistic and commercial dance world. Among the glitterati on hand to pick up awards were Paula Abdul, Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Ann-Margret, Julie Brown, Cyd Charisse, Chita Rivera, George Chakiris, Ann Miller, Patrick Swayze, Tommy Tune and the tap-dancing Nicholas Brothers. However, personalities from the concert dance world were conspicuously absent, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theatre failed to accept their trophies. Three other contenders in the classical category (New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre) officially withdrew from the competition before their nominations were announced. Controversy plagued “America’s Dance Honors” from the time it was proposed last fall--as the centerpiece of a gala fund-raiser for five San Diego arts organizations. Some members of the dance community were shocked that a tribute to dance would be used as a fund-raiser for a predominantly theater-based collective.