Fire Island Dance Festival Benefits BC/EFA

Escape New York City for a summer day and immerse yourself in unparalleled culture, breathtaking views and world-class dance on an all-inclusive daytrip to Fire Island Dance Festival on Sunday, July 16, 2017.

The hassle-free daytrip includes round-trip luxury transportation from midtown Manhattan, a delicious champagne luncheon in Fire Island Pines, tickets to the festival's 5 pm closing performance and cocktails before the trip back to NYC, all for only $275 per person.

The New York Times hails Fire Island Dance Festival as one of this summer's "outdoor performances to see," proclaiming, "the postcard beauty of its sea-and-sky backdrop is matched by the star power of its lineup."

Fire Island Dance Festival (#fidance), which includes performances July 14-16, brings acclaimed dance companies and choreographers to a stunning stage built on the shores of the Great South Bay. The annual event is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. For those who don't need roundtrip transportation but are still interested in the VIP experience, a Sunday VIP package also is available. Enjoy the champagne luncheon, closing performance and post-show cocktails for $225 per person.

Among the mix of emerging and established dance companies performing at this year's Fire Island Dance Festival are Caleb Teicher & Company; EVIDENCE, A Dance Company; Makers Dance Company; Miami City Ballet; Peridance Contemporary Dance Company; Pontus Lidberg Dance and Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener.

The festival also will feature choreography from George Balanchine, Al Blackstone, Broadway's Lorin Lotarro (Waitress), Justin Peck and Manuel Vignoulle. Celebrated dancers performing in the festival include American Ballet Theatre principal dancer James Whiteside and corps de ballet members Joo Won Ahn, Sung Woo Han, Jonathan Klein, Tyler Maloney, Garegin Pogossian, Kento Sumitani and Zhiyao Zhang, as well as Miami City Ballet principals Jeanette Delgado and Kleber Rebello.

The festival also welcomes Havana-based Acosta Danza, founded by internationally renowned dancer Carlos Acosta. Making the company's first appearance on American soil, Acosta Danza's Mario Sergio El�as and Raul Reinoso will perform a duet that explores the splendors and frustrations of a couple in love.

Tony Award winner Cady Huffman will host the event. The charming and multi-talented Huffman won the Tony for her unforgettable performance as Ulla in "The Producers" and also was nominated for "The Will Rogers Follies." She is a favorite judge on Food Network's "Iron Chef America" and has regularly been seen on TV's "Blue Bloods," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Frasier," "The Good Wife," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and more.

Monica Bill Barnes & Company will kick-off Fire Island Dance Festival at the Friday night Leadership Event at Whyte Hall, reserved exclusively for Leadership Supporters. The weekend continues with three Fire Island Dance Festival performances: the opening performance on Saturday, July 15, at 5 p.m. (cocktails starting at 4 p.m.); the sunset performance on Saturday, July 15, at 7 p.m. (cocktails following); and the closing performance on Sunday, July 16 at 5 p.m. (cocktails following).

Leadership Supporters enjoy tickets to the highly coveted sunset performance on Saturday or the best seats in the house at the 5 p.m. performances on Saturday or Sunday, along with the Friday night event and prominent recognition in the harbor and throughout the Pines.

Leadership tickets start at $350. Individual tickets for the 5 p.m. performances are $150. Free round-trip water taxi service is generously available for all attendees. Fire Island Dance Festival is generously sponsored by The New York Times, United Airlines, DIRECTV, Sayville Ferry and Tony's Barge Inc.

Last year's Fire Island Dance Festival raised a record-breaking $560,133, with more than $4.8 million raised since the festival began in 1995. Through their generous support, festival attendees have helped ensure that those in need throughout the New York area and in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico receive lifesaving medications, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

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 Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers' Resource, as well as more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

Tickets for the daytrip package and all Fire Island Dance Festival performances are on sale now at dradance.org or by phone at 212.840.0770, ext. 229.