Shirley MacLaine will always have a term of endearment for dance.

The actress, 91, made a rare public appearance at the Dance Hall of Fame’s inaugural ceremony Wednesday at the Gloria Kaufmann Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, where she received a Lifetime Achievement Award that has been named in honor of the longtime screen icon.

“Getting an award for dancing is the most important acknowledgement I could have. I mean that,” the Oscar winner began in her speech. “This is beautiful, by the way, heavy, and it’s beautiful. My mother took me to dancing class when I was 3 because I had weak ankles, and I fell in love with it.

“But here’s what it also included: discipline, love of music, a sense of cooperation with other people, being on time. And from that day on, I went to class every

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