Choreography Glides Back Into Focus on Silver Screen : Movies: From ‘The Flintstones’ to ‘The Mask,’ Hollywood is adding more smooth moves to its repertoire. But their presence is often subtle.

It’s a far cry from the MGM musicals of the ‘40s or those over-the-top MTV dance videos. But choreography is nonetheless two-stepping its way back onto the silver screen.

In 1993 alone, 43 movies had choreographed segments, says dance agent Julie McDonald of Joseph, Heldfond & Rix Inc., who represents many of the top choreographers on both coasts. This year, dance impresarios are putting their imprint on films such as “Casper,” “The Flintstones,” “The Mask” and “To Wong Fu” to name a few.

But the presence of choreography is often subtle, playing on the audience’s subconscious conditioning from all of those TV music videos, “of having music and dance incorporated in their lives,” says choreographer Vincent Paterson.

“People always think of choreography as ballet or Broadway or a dance movie like ‘Flashdance.’ But choreography is becoming more and more of an integral part of filmmaking. All of a sudden it’s in films like ‘The Flintstones’ or ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It.’ But people don’t walk away talking about, ‘Wow, that dance number!’

“Because of MTV we’ve become so accustomed to music and dance, most people don’t realize its role or remember it when they do see it on the screen,” he says.

Paterson--who choreographed segments in “Hook,” “Havana,” “Ruby,” “The Mighty Quinn” and “Mannequin”--is currently negotiating to compose the dance numbers for Oliver Stone’s upcoming “Evita” for Hollywood Pictures. He is also one of three choreographers in the running for Paul Verhoeven’s planned “Showgirls.”

Paterson has also choreographed Madonna’s “Blond Ambition” tour, her video “Express Yourself” and the 1990 live MTV Awards performance of “Vogue.” He was Michael Jackson’s dance maestro for the 1993 halftime Super Bowl performance, for Jackson’s “Black or White” video and his 1989 “Bad” tour. And he choreographed Hal Prince’s musical stage version of Manuel Puig’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

He recently completed a fantasy documentary for TNT, “In Search of Dr. Seuss,” starring Kathy Najimy, Robin Williams and the voice of Billy Crystal. The program is set to air Nov. 20.

Stone’s anticipated $40-million to $50-million version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical follows Stone’s recent decision to drop “Noriega.” Sources say Stone, who recently scouted locations in Argentina, could begin shooting on “Evita” as early as February.

What Paterson might do with “Evita” is still on the drawing board. “But it would be something with more of an edge--again, something people are accustomed to seeing,” he says.

“The idea is to do a musical, to incorporate one art into another, so that the movement doesn’t look like some big dance number,” says Paterson. “That’s the new message we’re playing with in film. To bring choreography in but to make it . . . something you don’t even notice.”