BROADWAY DANCE WINS BIG IN TWO CONTESTS.

THE DANCE-HEAVY Broadway musical Contact swept the fifty-fourth annual Tony Awards, hosted by Nathan Lane and Rosie O'Donnell and held June 4 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Actor Boyd Gaines took home a Tony (his third) for best featured actor in a musical; Karen Ziemba topped fellow cast member Deborah Yates for best featured actress in a musical, and despite some protests from professional musicians over its prerecorded soundtrack and lack of singing, the show itself was named best new musical.

Susan Stroman won the award for best choreography for Contact, although she also had been nominated for her choreography in The Music Man, which was beat out in eight categories. Stroman faced competition from choreographers Lynne Taylor-Corbett (Swing!) and Kathleen Marshall (Kiss Me, Kate), although Kiss Me, Kate garnered five awards in all, including best musical revival.

Contact also scored a double coup when the annual Astaire Awards for Broadway dance were presented May 18 in New York. Stroman was named best choreographer (she was also honored for her work on The Music Man) and Yates was named best female dancer (as the mysterious woman in the yellow dress). Best male dancer was Clyde Alves, who played Tommy Djilas in The Music Man.

Two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth hosted the benefit luncheon at the Hudson Theatre. The awards were presented by Don Correia (to Alves), Sandy Duncan (to Yates) and Patricia Birch (to Stroman).

The awards, founded in 1982, are administered by the Theater Development Fund, a performing arts service organization that also runs the discount-ticket center in Times Square. The award committee was chaired by Douglas Watts and included Dance Magazine's executive editor, Richard Philp; its senior consulting editor, Clive Barnes; and contributing editor Don McDonagh.

The winners were chosen from three nominees in each category and announced at the ceremony; previously, a single winner was named in advance. The change was made, Watts explained, to reflect the fact that "this has been one of the most exciting years for dance on Broadway in many seasons, with thirteen shows eligible for Astaire Awards."

Yates was chosen over two colleagues from Contact, Ziemba and Stephanie Michels, while Alves was in competition with Michael Berresse and Stanley Wayne Mathis, both of Kiss Me, Kate. The luncheon entertainment included 10-year-old "Big Coop" Cartier Williams, whose expert tap dancing was reminiscent of the young Savion Glover.