Monica Bill Barnes News

A bright summer sun shimmered across the Great South Bay as renowned dance companies, acclaimed choreographers and three standing-room-only audiences came together at this year's Fire Island Dance Festival on July 14-16, 2017. The 23rd edition of the fundraising and cultural event of the Fire Island summer raised a record $585,045 for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

As such television programs as 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'World of Dance' convince more and more people to appreciate dance as an art form, they also create a higher barrier for local companies to leap. With such superb choreographers as Tony winning Mia Michaels, Travis Wall, Sonya Tayeh and Tyce Diorio creating visual marvels, and national and world-wide dancers modeling what is 'good' in dance, expectations for local companies rise.

Two internationally acclaimed dance companies, a celebrated choreographer and a Tony Award-winning host have just been added to the already stellar lineup of Fire Island Dance Festival, which takes the stage July 14-16, 2017, in Fire Island, NY.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced the line-up for NEW SONGS NOW, an unplugged concert series, presented in association with New Neighborhood and Rosalind Productions, Inc. taking place Sunday, July 23 through Thursday, July 27 at 8:30pm at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place New York, NY 10014).

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced its complete 2017/18 which will kick off with Diana Oh's {my lingerie play} 2017: Installation #9: THE CONCERT AND CALL TO ARMS!!!!!!!!! this September, presented in association with Rosalind Productions, Inc., music by Diana Oh, co-directed by Stephanie Ryan Johnstone and Oh, with music direction by Ryan McCurdy. The mainstage season will continue in January 2018 with Dael Orlandersmith's UNTIL THE FLOOD and Mashuq Mushtaq Deen's DRAW THE CIRCLE will be presented in repertory.

DANCE NOW is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2017 DANCE NOW Festival. Acclaimed for its adventurous short-takes format, the annual DANCE NOW Festival presents an eclectic array of works by some of today's most exciting dance makers. The 22nd season of this exuberant showcase will feature 40 emerging and established choreographers side by side, including DANCE NOW veterans and festival newcomers. The 2017 festival will take place Wednesday to Saturday, September 6-9, at 7pm, at Joe's Pub at The Public. A special encore performance will be presented on Thursday, September 28, at 7pm.  

???????The Steps Beyond Foundation, Steps on Broadway's non-profit arm which connects artists and community through dialogue, performance, and artistic collaboration, invites three celebrated female contemporary dance makers to discuss The Creative Process Unraveled, June 24, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. at the Steps Studio Theater on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The American Dance Festival's (ADF) 84th season and 40th year in North Carolina kicks off Thursday, June 15 at 6:30pm at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) with an All North Carolina Program.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Rosalind Productions Inc. have announced the New Voices/New Works summer reading series. The New Voices/New Works program was launched earlier this year and actively scouts and incubates new voices.

Two internationally acclaimed dance companies, a celebrated choreographer and a Tony Award-winning host have just been added to the already stellar lineup of Fire Island Dance Festival, which takes the stage July 14-16, 2017, in Fire Island, NY.

WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater), under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag, has announced their 2017-2018 40th Anniversary Season at WP Theater (2162 Broadway, at 76th Street).

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

The Met announces the new season of MetLiveArts, the Museum's performance series that, over the past five seasons, has emerged as a vital part of the contemporary live-arts scene in New York City and a leader in genre-defying performance work.

Hudson Valley Dance Festival returns to the heart of the Hudson Valley for its fifth annual edition Saturday, October 7, 2017. The afternoon, featuring two enchanting performances, is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Hudson Valley Dance Festival returns to the heart of the Hudson Valley for its fifth annual edition Saturday, October 7, 2017. The afternoon, featuring two enchanting performances, is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The best-selling Russian crime fiction writer Boris Akunin's new stage adaptation of Shakespeare's HAMLET will debut this spring Off-Broadway when Red Lab Productions and Roust Theatre Company present HAMLET. A VERSION, with previews beginning April 21, prior to the official press opening on April 25 at The Theater at St. Clement's (423 W. 46 St.) in New York City. HAMLET. A VERSION is directed by Irina Gachechiladze. The production features original music by Georgian composer Giya Kancheli.

WP Theater (formerly Women's Project Theater), under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag, has announced WP Theater's 32nd Annual Gala, honoring game-changing women with the Women of Achievement Awards. The gala will honor Emmy Award-winning actress and activist Debra Messing ('Will & Grace,' Outside Mullingar) and trailblazing media executive, President of BBC Worldwide North America, Ann M. Sarnoff.

MetLiveArts presents the following programs for the month of March, including Modern Voices, Kannapolis, and more.

The acclaimed Museum Workout will be extended with new dates added in February and March. Part performance, part workout and tour, The Museum Workout has been called "reverential," "unconventional," and "thrilling" since its premiere on January 19.

Dance Now continues its Dance-mopolitan Series with the premiere of Places Please!, an evening-length duet created and performed by longtime collaborators Larry Keigwin and Nicole Wolcott of KEIGWIN + COMPANY.