Emmy winning director/choreographer Kenny Ortega will receive the 2006 Creative Achievement Award at Imagen’s 21st Annual Imagen Awards Gala, August 18 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Spanning a career of more than three decades, Ortega has worked with some of the biggest and most talented people in the entertainment business, including Francis Coppola (One From the Heart) and the legendary Gene Kelly (Xanadu) who became his mentor, and from whom he learned the art of designing choreography for the camera.

Ortega is recipient of two Emmy awards (Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Choreography) for his work on the Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games with legendary executive producer/director Don Mischer. As supervising choreographer, artistic director, and co-producer, he was responsible for directing a cast of 10,000 performers under icy weather conditions at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Ortega’s choreography credits include dozens of films, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, the landmark film Dirty Dancing, nearly 20 world tours for artists such as Barbra Streisand, The Pointer Sisters, Cher, Gloria Estefan, Kiss and numerous television specials like the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl XXX Half Time Show, the American Music Awards with executive producer/director Jeff Margolis, and the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics Ceremonies for which he won the American Choreography Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television from the Academy of Dance on Film. His award-winning choreography on Madonna’s Material Girl music video established him as a pioneer of this genre.

In 2004, he oversaw the creation of a production for the chairman of Wynn Resorts Limited, Steve Wynn, the mastermind behind Bellagio, Mirage, Treasure Island, and other Las Vegas resorts. He also staged Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan campaign founded by motion picture and television producer and philanthropist Norman Lear to energize young voters to participate in the electoral process.

Ortega began his career at age 13, performing in plays and musicals, including the show, Oliver with Georgia Brown. A Redwood City, California native, he is known in the Bay Area as a member and staging director/choreographer for the Tubes, the 1980s rock ’n’ roll band who were among the first to blend theater, performing arts and dance into rock ‘n’ roll concerts.

Other recipients of Imagen’s special awards are Chicago Congressman Luis Guiterrez, who will receive the inaugural Outstanding National Leadership Award, and writer/director/producer Gregory Nava will receive Imagen’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The President’s Award is being presented to Susan Whiting, CEO of Nielsen Media Research.

For more information regarding the 21st Annual Imagen Awards Gala and the award finalists, click on “Imagen Awards.”

A-List Star Honored for her Humanitarian Work
Internationally acclaimed actress, and producer Salma Hayek, who won an Emmy for her directorial debut of Showtime’s The Maldonado Miracle, was recognized earlier this year as Artist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation, which annually honors the nation’s most acclaimed artists and scientists. Hayek, who is of Lebanese-Mexican descent, was recognized for her philanthropic activities and artistic achievements.

The award also recognizes her work as national spokesperson for the Avon Foundation’s Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program, for which she addressed the U.S. Senate on this issue. She was also honored for her contributions to the prevention of breast cancer, and environmental causes, such as Earth Day, Greenpeace, and the impact of global warming.

More recently, Hayek was honored in Hollywood by Italian label Dolce & Gabbana for her efforts to fight violence against women in her home country. Hayek, who was praised by movie icon and veteran activist Jane Fonda as “a real leader,” has made substantial donations to groups aiding battered women in her hometown of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state on Mexico’s Gulf Coast and to anti-domestic violence groups in the northern city of Monterrey.

Hayek was a 2003 Imagen Award winner for Best Actress and Creative Achievement for her incredible performance as the legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in the 2002 film Frida, which she also produced. The hit film was nominated for six Oscars, including best actress for Hayek, which gave her the distinction of becoming the first Latin actress to be nominated in this category. The film ultimately won awards for make-up and original score by Elliott Goldenthal.

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