Photo Flash: Ana Gasteyer Hosts Fire Island Dance Festival

The Fire Island Dance Festival, Dancers Responding to AIDS' (DRA) signature event, celebrated its twelfth year in Fire Island Pines with an undisputed artistic and financial success.  This year's festival, titled "12 By 12" referenced the twelfth anniversary of the Festival by presenting twelve dances by twelve dance renowned, established, and emerging dance companies and choreographers.  The event was held on the weekend of July 15th in Fire Island Pines at the home of Jon Biondo, Tim Horman and Sean Peggs, outdoors against a backdrop of the sun setting over the Great South Bay.  The three sold out performances drew record breaking crowds and raised an unprecedented $215,000 for Dancers Responding to AIDS.

Fire Island Dance Festival Twelve was hosted by Ana Gasteyer (The Threepenny Opera, Wicked in Chicago), star of Broadway, television and film, and featured the innovative work of: American Repertory Ballet, Axis Danz, Julian Barnett Project, Timothy Bish, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Christopher Davis, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, MOMIX, Peter Quanz, Verb Ballets and Kevin Wynn Collection.  2006 marked the first time that DRA offered Choreographic Sponsorships to foster the creation of new dance works, an effort that yielded nine world premier pieces created especially for this year's Festival.  

Since its inception twelve years ago, The Fire Island Dance Festival has raised a total of $1,080,000 for Dancers Responding to AIDS a fundraising program of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.   For more information on Dancers Responding to AIDS or Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS programs and events, visit the web at www.dradance.org or www.broadwaycares.org.

Ana Gasteyer

Timothy Bish and Aaron Hamilton - choreography by Timothy Bish

Rasta Thomas (from Movin' Out) - choreography by Lar Lubovitch