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Derek Hough continues his reign as one of the lords of the dance, scoring three nominations for the just-unveiled World Choreography Awards (sister Julianne Hough also makes a showing this year).

His nominations include ABC’s “Step Into…the Movies” special as well as their long-running “Dancing with the Stars,” and also Hough’s work on the music video for Michael Bublé’s “Higher.” However, married choreographers Phillip and Makenzie Chbeeb, also scored three noms each, including one with Hough for the “Higher” video, as well as for the “Zed Ramadan” TV commercial and ABC’s recent “Beauty and The Beast” anniversary special.

Jamal Sims, nominated for three Emmys this year in the choreography categories for his various projects—including Paramount+’s “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies“—garnered two nods, including his work on Netflix’s “13 the Musical” and the live “Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl.”

Familiar faces also...

Choreographer Dondraico Johnson brought his talent for putting together captivating live performances into National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha,” where he reimagined some of the Queen of Soul’s most memorable concerts, down to hundreds of extras all feeling the music through period appropriate moves. His efforts on the eight-episode limited series earned him his first attention from the Television Academy, picking up a nomination in the scripted programming choreography category.

What was your philosophy for how much to move-by-move recreate actual Aretha Franklin performances?

In my opinion, choreography is a thin line between doing research and making references to things and doing research and getting the vibe and making it your own. And it was important to me, and to [executive producer and director] Anthony Hemingway, that I could make it my own. If I couldn’t make it my own, it would be somebody else’s choreography.

How much of your research process...

“I don’t even know the proper words to [explain] how excited I am to get nominated for this particular project,” reveals Dondraico Johnson while discussing his recent Emmy nomination for choreographing National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha.” The bioseries starring Cynthia Erivo has landed Johnson his first Emmy nod for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming after more than two decades working with some of the industry’s top performers including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Although Johnson has worked primarily with performers who dance in the past, working on the Aretha Franklin project came naturally. “She wasn’t necessarily a dancer, she was known for her voice,” he explains. “But you could tell that she had an eye and a respect for the movement and the dance. She may not have been doing a lot of Janet Jackson or Michael Jackson moves,...

“The whole team worked so hard on the project so it’s really nice to get the recognition on such a music and sound-heavy project,” says Dan Brennan, one of the Emmy-nominated sound mixers for National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha” starring Cynthia Erivo. Brennan shares his nomination with Emmy winners Ken Hahn and Jay Meagher. Watch Brennan and Hahn’s exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above.

“Genius: Aretha” chronicles the life of Aretha Franklin from a young gospel singer in Detroit to a rising superstar who was eventually crowned the “Queen of Soul.” The sound mixing team acknowledges the added pressure to bring authenticity to the screen for this icon’s story. “Part of it is peoples’ memories of the songs,” explains Hahn. “The memories of when they heard them and what they were doing and who they were with. That changes the feeling. Where they are now being performed,...

Delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Cynthia Erivo starring Genius: Aretha doesn’t yet know when it will resume production nor who will be playing one of the music business’ most powerful executives in the legendary singer’s life.

“We have not set an actual date yet,” said director and EP Anthony Hemingway today of when the cameras could be turned on again. Fresh off inking an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television last week, the Red Tails director was speaking via video link at the TCA virtual panel for the latest installment of the Nat Geo anthology series.

“We are having a lot of conversations now with the studio and the network just trying to figure it out,” Hemingway added. “It’s all about safety and working within the new parameters of protocols that so many of us are going to have to learn about the way we approach our work,...