The Fire Island Dance Festival
Now in
its 20th Year
Shatters
Fundraising Record with $533,860
Produced
by and benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS a program of Broadway Cares/equity
Fights AIDS
By Jeannie Lieberman
Photos provided by
DRA
Despite years of progress in preventing and treating
H.I.V. the number of new infections nationwide remains stubbornly stuck at
50,000 a year. Most of them men under 30 who did not experience the scourge
that inspired Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez, former Paul Taylor
Dance Company members, to found this extraordinary organization, Dancers
Responding to AIDS in 1991. It is gratifying to know that Hurlin’s and
Cortez’s dream continues to deliver the message the funding is still necessary.
Indeed the gorgeous event into which it has morphed, now in its 20th
year, has exceeded its own fundraising totals. I doubt there is a more sublime
setting than the one performed July 18‐20,
2014 outdoors in a private home on the shores of the Great South Bay in Fire
Island Pines . Stadium seating was provided for the hundreds who attended each performance,
their view a stage around a pool, with the Great South Bay behind it, even a
sunset included for a couple of performances.
“At moment’s like this, we must take time to remember all the
talent, creativity and friendships we’ve lost, while celebrating the progress
we’ve made and the opportunities we have to make a difference for those who
need our help the most” said Ms. Hurlin, “We could not have achieved as much as
we have without the unwavering support of the Fire Island Pines community, our
generous donors and sponsors, the immensely talented dancers and choreographers
and our committed core of tireless volunteers”.
The event was not without drama as one of the world’s principal
dancers, Desmond Richardson, injured his knee just before the performance but,
in true show biz tradition, Jon Eden from MOMIX delivered a
show stopper that brought the audience to its feet (see below).
During the festival’s 20 years, 48 new works have had their world
premieres. In its 20 editions, Fire Island Dance Festival has
raised more than $3.8 million to help those who need it receive lifesaving
medications and health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency
financial assistance. This year’s festival featured 48 professional dancers entertaining
sold‐out crowds with ballet, modern, Broadway and even traditional
Hawaiian dance
Critically acclaimed choreographers Jerry Mitchell and Larry
Keigwin shared hosting duties. Both have had distinguished careers as
performers and choreographers. Mitchell is the two‐ time
Tony winning director and choreographer of the 2013 Tony‐winning
Best Musical, Kinky Boots. Keigwin is artistic
director of one of the country’s most electrifying dance companies, KEIGWIN +
COMPANY, and this year made his Broadway choreographic debut with the hit
musical If/Then
In the romantic pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet, Marcelo
Gomes, renowned principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre, charmed Luciana
Paris, a member of the corps de ballet, from her second‐story
balcony. The love‐struck couple melted into each other, avoiding for as long as they
could the sweet sorrow of parting.
Sara Mearns, principal dancer for New York City
Ballet, traded her pointe shoes for sassy heels, lighting up the stage in a
slinky, sexy Broadway showstopper. Mearns was supported by eight spectacular
male dancers, who lifted, tossed and twirled the bright‐ eyed
ingénue. “Stairway to Paradise,” set to a jazzy Gershwin song, was created by
Emmy Award‐winning choreographer Joshua Bergasse, who will make his
Broadway choreographic debut with this fall’s revival of On the Town.
Nick Kenkel, a
gifted Broadway gypsy‐turned‐choreographer and director, premiered “Good in Goodbye,” an
Afropop‐infused group number that affectionately paid tribute to a friend
lost too soon and celebrated the gifts left behind.
Four members of Complexions Contemporary Ballet performed the intricate choreography that showcased their
masterful technique and stamina. The number included an original score by Ian Ng, the first time a composition
for a ballet has premiered at Fire Island Dance Festival.
BalletCollective premiered an excerpt from “Dear
and Blackbirds,” a new work that explores the complicated inner workings
of relationships as two people struggle to eventually find their common path.
The piece was choreographed by Troy Schumacher, a rising talent and
member of the corps de ballet for New York City Ballet
Jon Bond, a member of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, performed his solo
piece “My Move,” displaying an iridescent personality outshined only by his
ability to effortlessly spring across the stage with a ferocity that’s both
fluid and controlled
Kristine Bendul, David Elder and Kurt
Froman recreated “Secret Garden: Adam, Eve & Steve,"
an elegant, passionate pas de trois originally choreographed and performed
in1997 for Broadway Bares by the late Arte Phillips
,Marcelo Gomes, renowned principal dancer for American
Ballet Theatre,
Jon Eden from MOMIX
mesmerized the standing-room-only audience with the stunning “Man Fan.” Eden masterfully manipulated a 22-foot-tall fan of silk to create dramatic, rippling
effects in a magical duet with the wind. He was a spectacular replacement for Desmond
Richardson who injured his knee in the storm.
Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu brought
the flavor of the Hawaiian islands to Fire Island in a new hypnotizing all‐male
hula dance punctuated by the music of puili bamboo dance sticks and an ipu, a
drum‐like instrument made from gourds. Innovative hula choreographer Patrick
Makuakāne leads the San Francisco‐based
company
Ailey II concluded each show with its soul‐stirring
“Wade in the Water” from Revelations. With the rhythmically
energizing traditional spiritual as the musical background, a devotional leader
brings a young couple to the water’s edge, baptizing them in a rousing number
that frees body and spirit.
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 more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations
nationwide as well as the essential programs of The Actors Fund, including the
HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers' Resource. For more information,
please visit Dancers Responding to AIDS at dradance.org,
on Facebook at facebook.com/DRAdance, on Twitter
at twitter.com/DRAdance, on YouTube
at youtube.com/DRAdance and on
Instagram at instagram.com/DRAdance
