First Program and Performers Set For Hudson Valley Dance Festival

Hudson Valley Dance Festival will return Saturday, October 11, 2025, with a moving mix of performances that capture the breadth and beauty of the art form. Hudson Valley Dance Festival will again transform a charming 19th-century warehouse on the banks of the Hudson River into an intimate, modern-day theater. With performances at 2 pm and 5 pm, the festival will showcase works inspired by the region’s rich artistic spirit.

The annual festival is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Tickets are now on sale at dradance.org/hvdance.

The first companies and choreographers announced for the festival’s 12th edition are:

- Jon Lehrer Dance Company bringing its signature blend of modern and jazz to a stirring contemporary work

- Broadway performer and choreographer Reed Luplau sharing his deeply personal contemporary work A Single Man, which premiered earlier this summer at Dancers Responding to AIDS’ Fire Island Dance Festival

- Dancer and choreographer Dario Natarelli, seen in Broadway’s Illinoise, premiering a new tap piece set to Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Feeling Good”

- New Chamber Ballet sharing Mandragore, an entwined duet on pointe for two ballerinas, choreographed by the company’s founder and artistic director Miro Magloire

Additional performers and choreographers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Prime tickets are $125 and include a cocktail reception at Historic Catskill Point. Premium tickets at $275 include the cocktail reception and an exclusive dinner with the dancers. Leadership Supporter packages begin at $1,000 and include additional benefits. A limited number of $40 tickets are also available. Get tickets at dradance.org/hvdance.

Presented by Dancers Responding to AIDS, the festival transforms the passion and creativity of dancers and audiences into tangible help for those in need. Each ticket purchase and sponsorship helps provide performing artists and people across the country living with HIV/AIDS and other debilitating illnesses with access to lifesaving medications, counseling, healthy meals and emergency assistance. Hudson Valley Dance Festival helps fund vital social services in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., including support for 18 organizations in the Hudson Valley.

Hudson Valley Dance Festival began in 2013 as a single performance at Historic Catskill Point. It has since grown into a beloved annual dance experience for Hudson Valley residents and visitors, raising $1.5 million through 11 iterations.  Hudson Valley Dance Festival is made possible, in part, by generous support from corporate sponsor The New York Times. 

Among the 450 organizations supported nationwide by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are 18 in the Hudson Valley. The organizations are: Albany Damien Center in Albany; Alliance for Positive Health in Albany; Animalkind in Hudson; Broadway Education Alliance in Rhinebeck; Catskill Food Pantry in Catskill; Columbia County Recovery Kitchen in Hudson; Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA in Hudson; The Community Hospice in Albany; Do Not Fear to Hope in Garrison; Dutchess Outreach in Poughkeepsie; Greenport Rescue Squad in Hudson; Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston; Matthew 25 Food Pantry in Catskill; Open Door Family Medical Center in Ossining; Rock Steady Farm in Millerton; Roe Jan Food Pantry in Hillsdale; TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal) in Congers; and Troy Area United Ministries in Troy.

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 Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including the Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers' Resource, as well as more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.