Carrie Ann Inaba to Host Fire Island Dance Festival

Carrie Ann Inaba, celebrated choreographer and judge on ABC's Emmy Award-winning Dancing with the Stars, will host this summer's Fire Island Dance Festivalon July 20-22, 2018, in Fire Island Pines, NY.

"I'm so thrilled to be joining the Fire Island Dance Festival family this year," Inaba said. "I can't wait to spend three days with such talented choreographers and performers in a place as beautiful, embracing and historically important as the Fire Island Pines. To be able to share my love of dance with the Fire Island audiences while we help countless people in need in New York and across the country with Dancers Responding to AIDS is just so special."

Produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Fire Island Dance Festival(#fidance) brings acclaimed dance from an array of styles to a picturesque waterfront stage on the Great South Bay. Tickets for Fire Island Dance Festival are on sale now at dradance.org or by phone at 212.840.0770, ext. 229. Tickets are also available in person on weekends in the Fire Island Pines Harbor.

Inaba will host a lineup that includes:

• Choreographer Gemma Bond, presenting Depuis le Jour, a pas de deux performed by American Ballet Theatre principals Devon Teuscherand Cory Stearns.
• Caleb Teicher & Company, performing Hullabaloo, an energetic piece that premiered at Broadway Cares' Easter Bonnet Competitionthis spring.
• Camille A. Brown & Dancers, sharing New Second Line, a celebration of the spirit and culture of the people of New Orleans and their resilience after Hurricane Katrina.
• Cirio Collective, premiering a new work performed by Boston Ballet principal Paul Craigand American Ballet Theatre soloist Blaine Hoven.
• Celebrated theatre choreographer James Kinney, premiering a new work performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's Michael Francis McBride andSamuel Lee Roberts.
• Paul Taylor Dance Company, sharing an excerpt of Aureole, a lighthearted and romantic piece that has become a signature solo work of Taylor's.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Jamar Roberts, choreographing a premiere featuring four fellow Ailey dancers.
• Acclaimed British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, sharing a duet performed by Tony Award nominee and former New York City Ballet principal Robert Fairchildand American Ballet Theatre soloist Calvin Royal III.

Best known as a judge on Dancing with the Stars, Inaba began her career as one of the first Asian Americans to perform contemporary dance on national television on In Living Color. As a Fly Girl, she helped bring hip hop dance into mainstream popular culture. Her choreography has since been seen on American Idol, American Juniors, The Kids Choice Awards, the Miss America Pageant, So You Think You Can Dance and more. Inaba has been featured in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and TV's Hannah Montana. Inaba has shared her hosting talents on Game Show Network's 1 vs. 100, Live with Kelly and Ryan, TV Guide's Red Carpet Live and The View.

Last year's Fire Island Dance Festival raised a record-breaking $585,045, bring the event's total to more than $5.5 million raised since it began in 1995. Through their generous support, Fire Island Dance Festival attendees have helped ensure that those in need throughout the New York area and in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. receive lifesaving medications, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

Fire Island Dance Festival includes the opening performance on Saturday, July 20, at 5 pm (cocktails starting at 4 pm); the sunset performance on Saturday, July 21, at 7 pm (cocktails following); and the closing performance on Sunday, July 22 at 5 pm (cocktails following).

Leadership tickets start at $375. Individual tickets for the 5 pm performances are $175. A hassle-free daytrip package features round-trip luxury transportation from New York City, a champagne luncheon and tickets to the 5 pm performance on Sunday, July 22. A Sunday VIP option, which includes the champagne luncheon and tickets to the Sunday show, is also available. The daytrip package is $275 per person; the Sunday VIP option is $225.

Fire Island Dance Festival is generously sponsored by The New York Times, United Airlines, DIRECTV, Sayville Ferry and Tony's Barge, Inc. Dancers Responding to AIDSrelies on the extraordinary compassion and efforts of the performing arts community to fund a safety net of social services for those in need. As a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, DRA supports the essential programs of The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers' Resource, as well as more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

For more information, please visit Dancers Responding to AIDS at dradance.org, at facebook.com/DRAdance, at instagram.com/DRAdance, at twitter.com/DRAdance and at youtube.com/DRAdance.