Davis and Finley to Host Solstice at Times Square, 6/18

From 4:30 PM until dusk on Sunday, June 18th, Times Square will be shut down and transformed to make way for thirty dance companies and over 200 professional dancers who are taking part in "Solstice at Times Square: Dancing at the Crossroads." The unprecedented event will be presented by Dancers Responding to AIDS in Association with the Times Square Alliance. This free to the public event will be hosted by Paige Davis ("Trading Spaces," Chicago) and Felicia Finley (The Wedding Singer, Aida) and is the latest edition to the Alliance's annual "Solstice in Times Square" event.

"The thirty local, international, and student companies featured in Dancing at the Crossroads will present a program of dance as diverse as New York City itself. With styles ranging from classic and contemporary ballet, to hip hop, jazz, modern and tap, set to music ranging from Stravinsky to Stevie Wonder, the event is guaranteed to offer something for every lover of music and dance," state press notes.

The stage for the event will be built on Military Island in Times Square (where Broadway meets 7th Avenue at 44th Street) and features: Ballet Hispanico School Ensemble, Battleworks, Cedar Lake, Complexions Contempory Ballet, CorbinDances, David Dorfman Dance, David Parker and the Bang Group, Decadancetheater, Elisa Monte Dance, In The Spotlight, Keigwin + Company, Miss Dance of the United States, Moving Still, Nicholas Andre Dance Theater, nicholasleichterdance, The Parsons Dance Company, Peridance Ensemble, Randy James Dance Works, Sensedance, Stephen Petronio Company, Suzanne Goldman, Tapaholics, The United States Dance Team, Todd Williams and Glen Rumsey, Trisha Brown Company, and Broadway casts of Hot Feet and The Color Purple.

In 2004, The Times Square Alliance in honor of Times Square's Centennial, introduced a counterpoint to New Year's Eve with "Solstice in Times Square," celebrating the summer solstice (the longest day of the year). On Wednesday June 21 (the date of the actual summer solstice), the event will conclude with "Solstice in Times Square-Mind Over Madness," a day of music presented in tandem with a "Yoga Fest" in Times Square.

In addition, "Broadway Bares 16: New York Strip" will be held at 9:30 PM and midnight that day. Those who are planning to attend the sexy event are encouraged to come a little earlier for "Solstice at Times Square."

For more information, visit www.timessquarenyc.org . For information on Dancers Responding to AIDS events (including the upcoming Fire Island Dance Festival), visit www.dradance.org.