Fire Island Dance Festival Announced

A Tony Award winner, an Emmy nominee, three MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellows and one of the most legendary American dance companies will help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Fire Island Dance Festival on July 19-21, 2019, in Fire Island Pines, NY. Produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Fire Island Dance Festival (#fidance) will bring world-class dance from an array of styles to a picturesque waterfront stage on the Great South Bay. Among the companies and choreographers scheduled to present pieces are:

• Abraham.In.Motion, led by artistic director and 2013 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow Kyle Abraham, premiering an excerpt of a work that will debut in full in 2020

• Emmy Award nominee and Fire Island Dance Festival favorite Al Blackstone, presenting a world premiere

• Bessie Award winners Dorrance Dance, led by 2014 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow Michelle Dorrance, presenting a world premiere tap piece

• Paul Taylor Dance Company, created by 1985 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow and dance icon Paul Taylor, sharing Sunset, an iconic piece from Taylor's legendary repertoire

• Acclaimed choreographer Garrett Smith, sharing a world premiere performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet's Christopher D'Ariano and Lucien Postlewaite

• Tony Award-winning and world-renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, sharing his first world premiere work created for Fire Island Dance Festival, performed by Martha Nichols (The Greatest Showman) and Garen Scribner (national tour of Wheeldon's An American in Paris)

• American Ballet Theatre principal dancer James Whiteside, sharing a world premiere performed by fellow ABT dancers corps de ballet member Aran Bell and soloist Catherine Hurlin

Additional performers will be announced later this spring. Performers are subject to change.

Ephrat Asherie Dance, a dance company rooted in street and social dance, will kick off the festival Friday night at the Leadership Event at Whyte Hall, which is reserved exclusively for Leadership Supporters. Leadership Supporters also enjoy tickets to the highly coveted sunset performance on Saturday or the best seats in the house at the 5 pm performances on Saturday or Sunday, along with prominent recognition in the harbor and throughout the Pines.

The unmissable dance will take place at three Fire Island Dance Festival performances: the opening performance on Saturday, July 20, at 5 pm; the sunset performance on Saturday, July 20, at 7 pm; and the closing performance on Sunday, July 21 at 5 pm. New this year: cocktails follow each performance at The Pines' Whyte Hall. Tickets for Fire Island Dance Festival are on sale now at dradance.org or by phone at 212.840.0770, ext. 229. Beginning this weekend, tickets also will be available in person 10 am - 1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays in the Fire Island Pines Harbor. Leadership tickets start at $375. Individual tickets for the 5 pm performances are $175.

A hassle-free daytrip package is available, which features round-trip luxury transportation from New York City, a champagne luncheon and tickets to the 5 pm performance on Sunday, July 21. A Sunday VIP option, which includes the champagne luncheon and tickets to the Sunday show without the transportation, also is available. The daytrip package is $275; the Sunday VIP option is $225.

Last year's event raised a record-breaking $604,103, with more than $6.1 million raised since the festival 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.

In honor of Dancers Responding to AIDS supporters and the festival's 25th anniversary, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is adding the Pines Care Center to its National Grants Program. This now-annual $7,500 grant will support a rapid HIV testing initiative throughout the Pines' season

Dancers Responding to AIDS relies 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.