Fire Island Dance Festival returns July 14-16

The charitable and cultural event Fire Island Dance Festival will return July 14-16 to Fire Island Pines, NY. This summer’s festival will feature the premieres of three works and the return of several companies that have become festival favorites.

Produced by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Fire Island Dance Festival (#fidance) will bring acclaimed dance from around the world to a picturesque waterfront stage on the Great South Bay.

Among the mix of emerging and established dance companies to be featured are: Caleb Teicher & Company performing Meet Ella, an energetic and spirited swing piece featuring two male dancers and set to classic live recordings of Ella Fitzgerald; EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, premiering a piece that fuses African dance with contemporary choreography and storytelling; Peridance Contemporary Dance Company sharing an elegant and evocative excerpt of Dia-Mono-Logues, which explores the ways people subconsciously project their prejudices and preconceived notions onto others; and Pontus Lidberg Dance premiering a work about heartbreak in an intimate relationship told through contemporary ballet.

Also, Broadway choreographer Lorin Latarro (Waitress) will present a piece that reflects on love and the challenges gay men and women have faced across different time periods. And choreographer Manuel Vignoulle returns to the festival with the premiere of Tatakai, which merges traditional Japanese fighting principles with exquisite ballet and features six men from American Ballet Theatre, including soloist Alexandre Hammoudi. Additional performers will be announced later.

Last year’s festival raised a record-breaking $560,133, with more than $4.8 million raised since the festival began in 1995. Through their generous support, festival attendees have helped ensure that those in need throughout the New York area and in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico receive lifesaving medications, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

Monica Bill Barnes & Company will kickoff the 2017 Fire Island Dance Festival at the Friday night Leadership Event at Whyte Hall, reserved exclusively for Leadership Supporters. The incomparable weekend of dance continues with three festival performances: the opening performance on Saturday, July 15 at 5 p.m. (cocktails starting at 4 p.m.); the sunset performance on Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. (cocktails following); and the closing performance on Sunday, July 16 at 5 p.m. (cocktails following).

Tickets for Fire Island Dance Festival are on sale at dradance.org.

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, courtesy of Fire Island Dance Festival.