The dance industry takes center stage at the annual Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show at the historic Avalon Theater in Hollywood on Wednesday.
The event brings together dancers, educators, pioneers and dance icons who will be honored for their outstanding achievements and artistic contributions in 2023.
In addition to celebrating the outstanding achievements and artistic contributions of the dance industry over the past year, the event is also part of the global fight against cancer.
With a deeply rooted history in dance, Shirley MacLaine during the ceremony, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to her by actress Annette Bening (65).
The two ladies are actually sisters-in-law, as Benning is married to McClain’s brother, Warren Beatty.
Honoree: Shirley MacLaine, 89, was all smiles before being presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Industry Dance Awards at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood
McClain, 89, was absolutely radiant as he hit the red carpet in black, patterned matching trousers, a black floral blazer and black straight trousers.
After posing solo for photographers, she also tucked in with Benning for another round of pictures, and again with Peter Levine, who appeared to be her chaperone for the evening.
Talk co-host Amanda Kloots, who is a former Broadway dancer and Radio City Rockette, hosted the ceremony.
Some of the other honorees at IDA included Alison Faulk (Dance Innovator Award Recipient), Jennifer Jones (Dance Role Model Award Recipient) and Art and Nancy Stone (Trailblazer Award Recipient), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Some of the other awards given out during the ceremony were Best Hip-Hop Performance, Best Jazz Performance, Best Open/Ballet/Acro, Best Tap, Best Lyrics, Best Novelty/Musical, People’s Choice and Choreography of the Year.
There was also a star-studded red carpet, fantastic performances and a presentation by Dancers Against Cancer (DAC).
This tour, Industri Dance Awards and Dancers Against Cancer present the inaugural Stephen ‘tVitch’ Boss Legacy of Hope Scholarship.
The scholarship aims to honor Boss by ‘passing the torch to a new generation of gifted dancers, encouraging and supporting their further journey and passion for dance through an annual scholarship.’
Dancing dreams: The Oscar-winning actress hoped to be a ballerina before her acting career, which began professionally in 1955.
Family: Actress Annette Bening, 65, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to McClain, who happens to be her sister-in-law through her marriage to Warren Beatty
All in the family: Benning married McClane’s brother Warren Beatty in 1992
Boss was a dancer, choreographer, actor, DJ and producer who got his big break on So You Think You Can Dance before spending nine years on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Sadly and tragically, the father of three took his own life last December at the age of 40 after struggling with his mental health throughout his life.
With hopes of becoming a ballerina, MacLaine (born Shirley MacLaine Beatty) took up ballet when she was just three years old in 1937, as a means of strengthening her weak ankles.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, she eventually moved to New York to try her hand at acting the summer before her senior year of high school, which resulted in a minor success in the chorus of Oklahoma!
After graduating, she returned to Manhattan and landed a place in the dance ensemble of the Broadway production of the musical Me and Juliet (1953-1954) at the Majestic Theatre.
Sweet: MacLaine also shared an evening at the ceremony with Peter Levine
Broadway bound: After graduating from high school, MacLaine returned to New York and landed a spot in the dance ensemble of the Broadway production of the musical Me and Juliet (1953-1954).
She would win another dance-based role as an understudy for actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game (1954) at the Shubert Theatre.
In May 1954, Hannay injured her ankle during a matinee performance, opening the door for McClain to replace her.
After playing the dancer/Gladys role for several months and Hannay still injured, film producer Hal B. Wallis saw one of the shows and decided to sign her to a contract with Paramount Pictures.
Featured in Around the World in Trouble with Harry (1955), 80 Days (1956), Some Have Come (1958), Ask Any Girl (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Children’s Hour (1961), Irma la Duce (1963) and Sweet Charity (1969).
Debut: McClane began her acting career with a role in The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Ballet film; McClane earned six Academy Award nominations during her illustrious career, including for The Turning Point (1977), which centers on the world of ballet in New York; she is pictured in 1955
Eventually, MacLaine landed one of the lead roles in the drama film The Turning Point (1977), which focused on the ballet world of New York and featured choreography by George Balanchine and the famous Alvin Ailey, who founded Alvin Ailey American Dance. A theater that still works.
Both McClane and co-star Anne Bancroft were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, which were just two of the 11 nominations she received.
In addition to McClain and Bancroft, the cast also included Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tom Skerritt, Leslie Brown, Martha Scott, Marshall Thompson, Anthony Zerbe, James Mitchell, Alexandra Danilova, Lisa Lucas, Philip Saunders, Antoinette Sibley, Marshall Thompson, Old Dani Zerbe and Daniel Levans.
McClain was nominated for six Academy Awards during her illustrious career, winning Best Actress for her emotional performance in the drama film Terms of Endearment (1983).
