Whoopi Goldberg to Host Fire Island Dance Festival

The Island Dance Festival returns to Fire Island Pines on the weekend of July 20.

"It is the entertainment event of Summer '07 and features stars of internationally acclaimed dance companies performing with the beautiful Great South Bay as a backdrop benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of BroadwayCares/Equity Fights AIDS.  The roster of performers includes Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Battleworks Dance Company, TheChase Brock Experience, Corbindances, Darrel Grand Moultrie, Jorge Guzman & Willem Devries, Momix, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, Tapaholics, Trey Mcintrye Project, and Travis Wall & Ivan Koumaev. (Programand performers subject to change)," state press notes.

Since its debut in 1994, the Fire Island Dance Festival has raised over $1million dollars in the fight against AIDS.  Fire Island Dance Festival Thirteen will be emceed by Whoopi Goldberg who has become one of a very elite group of artists who have won the Grammy ("Whoopi Goldberg," 1985), the Academy Award (Ghost, 1991), the Golden Globe (The Color Purple, 1985 and Ghost, 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 2002) and a Tony (Producer of Thoroughly Modern Millie, 2002). She is equally well-known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse and the battle against AIDS, as well as many other causesand charities. Among her many charitable activities, Goldberg is a Goodwill Ambassador to the UnitedNations.  She has also appeared in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and in Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell.

Corporate Sponsors for Fire Island Dance Festival 13 include: The New York Times, Continental Airlines, Absolut, GRW Advertising, NEXT Magazine, Color by Pergament EMR Systems, BV Vineyards, and 1-800-postcards.Community Sponsors for Fire Island Dance Festival 13 include: Fire Island News, Fire Island Pines Property Owners' Association, John Joseph Designs, Pines Pantry, Pines Pizza and Martini Bar, Sayville Ferry Service, and Tony's Barge.

Dancers Responding to AIDS is the ongoing, committed response of the American dance community to an urgent worldwide health crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of this community, DRA raises funds for AIDS-related service providers across the United States. DRA is a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS(BC/EFA), the nation's leading industry-based AIDS funding and grant-making organization. The funds raised are distributed to seven programs of the Actors' Fund of America and as grants to over 500 AIDS and family serviceorganizations across the United States. Since its founding in 1988, BC/EFA has distributed over $130 million for criticallyneeded services for people with AIDS, HIV, or HIV-related illnesses.

The opening performance is on Saturday, July 21 at 5:00 p.m. (party at 4:00 p.m.). The sunset performance is on Saturday, July 21 at 7:00 p.m. (party following). And the closing performance is on Sunday, July 22 at 5:00 p.m. (party following).

Visit www.broadwaycares.org for more information. Leadership Sponsors are included inthe special kick-off celebration on Friday evening July 20 that the new Fire Island Pines Community Center.  To charge tickets by phone, call 212.840.0770 x268 - Monday through Friday, and on weekends at the Pinesharbor or order online at the DRA website..

Tickets for both Saturday performances are sold out.  There are a limited number of tickets for the Sunday show which can be bought online at www.dradance.org.

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