Fire Island Dance Festival Returns 7/15-17; Performers Announced

Fire Island Dance Festival, the most talked-about cultural and charitable event of the summer on Fire Island, will once again present three eclectic performances July 15-17, 2016 that include Ballet Contemporaneo de Camaguey Cuba's first performance outside of Cuba, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Gallim Dance, KEIGWIN + COMPANY, Madboots Dance and choreography by Al Blackstone and Adbul Latif. Produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Fire Island Dance Festival (#fidance) will present some of the most talked-about dance companies and choreographers in the industry, performing outdoors against the picturesque backdrop of the Great South Bay in Fire Island Pines.

Fire Island Dance Festival is a unique occasion where audiences and dancers come together to make a difference. Last year's festival raised a record-breaking $544,555. Since its first installment in 1995, the event has raised more than $4.3 million, helping ensure that those in need throughout the New York area and in all 50 states receive lifesaving medications and health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

The 22nd annual Fire Island Dance Festival will feature a mix of emerging and established dance companies:

• Ballet Contemporáneo de Camagüey Cuba, a celebrated contemporary ballet company performing outside Cuba for the first time, with a male duet, choreographed by artistic director and former Ballet Hispanico dancer Pedro Ruiz.

• Al Blackstone, acclaimed choreographer and Capezio A.C.E. Award winner, creates an excerpt from Freddie Falls in Love,that premieres June 6 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York.

• Dance Theater of Harlem, a company known for its cutting edge contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture, premiering a dynamic pas de deux.

• Gallim Dance, one of New York's leading contemporary dance companies, showcasing a new work by artistic director Andrea Miller, created in memory of two Fire Island residents and longtime Fire Island Dance Festival supporters who passed away recently - Harvey Alter and Michael Young. Miller was housed by Alter and Young when the company performed at Fire Island Dance Festival in 2010.

• KEIGWIN + COMPANY, known for the electrifying brand of its artistic director Larry Keigwin, performing an excerpt of Episodes, commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra as part of NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance.

• Abdul Latif, a New York-based contemporary choreographer and artistic director of D~Squared Dance, premiering a new duet featuring Glenn Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

• Madboots Dance, an all-male contemporary dance company, presenting a new work by artistic directors Jonathan Campbell and Austin Diaz.

Dorrance Dance, an energetic tap dance company founded by MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, will kick-off F I D F at the Friday night Leadership Event at Whyte Hall. This is an intimate performance reserved exclusively for Leadership Supporters, who also enjoy tickets to the highly coveted sunset performance on Saturday (or the best seats at 5 pm performances on Saturday or Sunday), along with prominent recognition in the harbor and throughout the Pines.

The dance magic follows throughout the weekend with three Fire Island Dance Festival performances: the opening performance on Saturday, July 16, at 5 pm (cocktails starting at 4 pm); the sunset performance on Saturday, July 16, at 7 pm (cocktails following); and the closing performance on Sunday, July 17 at 5 pm (cocktails following).

Tickets for Fire Island Dance Festival are on sale now at dradance.org or by phone at 212.840.0770, ext. 268. Beginning May 28, tickets also will be available in person on weekends in the Fire Island Pines Harbor. Leadership tickets start at $350. Individual tickets for the 5 pm performances are $150. Additional performers will be announced later.

Fire Island Dance Festival is generously sponsored by The New York Times, United Airlines, DIRECTV, Movmnt Magazine, Sayville Ferry and Tony's Barge, Inc.

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.

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