Fire Island Dance Festival Raises $300,000 for BC/EFA

The Fire Island Dance Festival, Dancers Responding to AIDS' (DRA) signature event, celebrated its thirteenth year in Fire Island Pines with an artistic and financial success. 

"This year's festival, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and Phylicia Rashad presented eleven dances by world renowned, established, and emerging dance companies and choreographers.  The event, twice hailed by The New York Times as 'the charity event of the season' was held on the weekend of July 20th in Fire Island Pines at the home of Jon Biondo and Tim Horman , 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 $300,000 for Dancers Responding to AIDS," according to press notes.

Fire Island Dance Festival Thirteen was emceed by multi-award-winning actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Phylicia Rashad (joined by Tony Award nominee Michael McElroy), and featured the innovative work of: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Battleworks Dance Company, The Chase Brock Experience, CorbinDANCES, Darrel Grand Moultrie, Jorge Guzman & Willem DeVries, MOMIX, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, Tapaholics, Travis Wall & Ivan Koumaev, and Trey McIntyre Project.  Continuing the tradition started in 2006, DRA offered Choreographic Sponsorships to foster the creation of new dance works, an effort that yielded six 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 $1,372,393 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 and www.broadwaycares.org.

Photos of Whoopi Goldberg by Rosalie O'Connor