Hudson Valley Dance Festival Moves Online for 2020 Edition

Escape to the cultural heart of the Hudson Valley without leaving your living room when the Hudson Valley Dance Festival goes virtual for the first time on Saturday, October 10, 2020. The festival is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Watch the hourlong stream at 7 pm Eastern, at dradance.org. The stream will be available for four days after its premiere.

The lineup is set to feature a diverse collection of festival premieres, made-for-the-moment filmed shorts and highlights from past festivals. The virtual festival will include an original dance film by Stephen Petronio, created at his residency center in Round Top, NY; an outdoor solo filmed at Kaatsbaan Summer Festival in Tivoli, NY, choreographed by Caleb Teicher featuring American Ballet Theatre's Catherine Hurlin; a performance from So You Think You Can Dance's Ricky Ubeda choreographed by Billy Griffin and more. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

"We'll miss gathering on the banks of the Hudson River and amid the gorgeous fall foliage, but we're happy to continue the tradition of sharing breathtaking dance that gives back to and celebrates the Hudson Valley community," said Denise Roberts Hurlin, founding director of Dancers Responding to AIDS. "In these unprecedented times, we're thrilled to come together virtually and provide immediate help to those affected by COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and other life crises in the area and across the country."

The money raised during the Virtual Hudson Valley Dance Festival will help Broadway Cares provide additional, emergency grants to 13 organizations based in the Hudson Valley that are already part of its National Grants Programs. The organizations are Albany Damien Center and Alliance for Positive Health in Albany, Animalkind, Columbia-Greene Community Foundation and Hudson Valley SPCA in Hudson, Matthew 25 Food Pantry and Community Hospice in Catskill, Hudson Valley Community Services in Hawthorne, Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston, Rock Steady Farm in Millerton, Roe Jan Food Pantry in Hillsdale, TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal) in Congers and Troy Area United Ministries in Troy.

The annual in-person dance festival, traditionally held at Historic Catskill Point in Catskill, NY, has raised $910,688 for people in need across the country and in the Hudson Valley during the festival's seven editions.

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.