Hudson Valley Dance Festival Expands Lineup of Companies and Choreographers

Hudson Valley Dance Festival, an enchanting dance experience in beautiful Catskill, NY, has added Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and MOMIX to the list of accomplished companies and choreographers performing at this year's festival on Saturday, October 7, 2017. The festival, produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, returns for two performances at 2 pm and 5 pm at Historic Catskill Point. Tickets are on sale at dradance.org. Individual tickets range from $40-$275.

New York City dance lovers can experience the ultimate fall getaway with our VIP daytrip package. The daytrip includes luxury round-trip transportation from Manhattan, a tour of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, a champagne luncheon, orchestra tickets to the 2 pm performance and post-show cocktails, all for $275 per person.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present Robert Battle's Strange Humors, a piece that explores an explosive confrontation of wits and prowess, set to a fiery score of African hand drumming and Middle Eastern folk music.

MOMIX, led by renowned choreographer Moses Pendleton, will share Daddy Long Leg, a humorous and athletic dance inspired by the Argentine gaucho and American cowboy.

These works will join a previously announced lineup of acclaimed dance companies and choreographers that includes:

• Tony and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford, sharing an excerpt from Carousel, drawn from the lush orchestral dream ballet from the beloved musical, featuring Abigail Simon and Marty Lawson.
• Cirio Collective, presenting an excerpt from Jeffrey Cirio's In The Mind: The Other Room, a trio that represents a debate or conversation, perhaps occurring in the mind, in the past, present or even future. Cirio is a principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre.
• Manuel Vignoulle - M/motions, sharing Black and White, a tender exploration of the harmony in supposed opposites on a quest of self discovery. The piece is choreographed and performed by Manuel Vignoulle, joined by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancer Rena Butler.
• MOVETHECOMPANY, led by Joshua Beamish, presenting two pieces: Concerto, an elegant and sexy piece seamlessly fusing classical ballet with angular contemporary isolations; and an excerpt from Saudade, with six dancers confronting their existential incompleteness through balletic poise and street-style body movement.
• New York Theatre Ballet, presenting the legendary Merce Cunningham's Cross Currents, which is inspired by the way dancers' paths frequently and rhythmically intersect.
• Tony and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford, sharing an excerpt from Carousel, drawn from the lush orchestral dream ballet from the beloved musical, featuring Abigail Simon and Marty Lawson.
• Tayeh Dance, led by international sensation Sonya Tayeh, presenting an excerpt of you'll still call me by name, an emotionally charged dance exploring a complex and heartbreaking relationship between a mother and daughter.

In its first four years, Hudson Valley Dance Festival has raised $460,397. The money helps Broadway Cares provide grants to AIDS and family service organizations nationwide, including 10 based in the Hudson Valley: Albany Damien Center and Alliance for Positive Health in Albany, Animalkind and Columbia-Greene Community Foundation in Hudson, Matthew 25 Food Pantry and Community Hospice in Catskill, Hudson Valley Community Services in Hawthorne, Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston, Roe Jan Food Pantry in Hillsdale and TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal) in Congers. Hudson Valley Dance Festival is sponsored by The New York Times, United Airlines and City National Bank.

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.