Fire Island Dance Festival

July 18-20
Fire Island Pines, Fire Island, NY

Fire Island Dance Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary by bringing together captivating performances, breathtaking ocean views and a passionate community dedicated to making a difference on July 18-20, 2025.

Set against an awe-inspiring waterfront stage overlooking the Great South Bay, the festival unites the Fire Island Pines community in support of Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Fire Island Dance Festival begins with an opening performance at 5 pm on Saturday, July 19, followed by a Leadership Supporter sunset performance at 7 pm, and a closing performance at 5 pm on Sunday, July 20

Beginning May 24, tickets are also available in person on weekends from 10 am-1 pm in the Fire Island Pines harbor.

The performers set for this year’s festival include:

• A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham performing excerpts from Cassette, a nostalgic, referential work that blends camp and critique while spotlighting the richness and nuance of the Black experience

• Tony and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne making his Fire Island Dance Festival choreographic debut presenting a romantic male duet, an excerpt from his groundbreaking and tradition-shattering Swan Lake

• Emerging choreographer and So You Think You Can Dance finalist Braylon Browner debuting a deeply personal world premiere solo

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Christian Burse performing the athletic Growth. In a powerful full-circle moment, this piece was first presented at the inaugural Fire Island Dance Festival in 1995.

• EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, presenting an excerpt from Ronald K. Brown’s Grace, featuring dancers from Evidence and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Marking Grace’s 25th anniversary, the work will be accompanied by a special vocal performance from Broadway’s Noah J. Ricketts.

• Gibney Dance offering an excerpt from A Couple, an intimate and evocative duet exploring the shifting dynamics between two men.

• Award-winning director, choreographer and creative producer James Kinney premiering  a dynamic opening number showcasing his Broadway flair with a rock ’n’ roll energy

• Celebrated theater choreographer and performer Reed Luplau debuting a world premiere of five men navigating themes of loss and the hope of second chances

• Masterz At Work Dance Family sharing an excerpt of a vibrant work by Black, trans, femme choreographer Courtney Washington, blending voguing and ballroom with the foundations of contemporary dance. The piece premiered at last fall’s Hudson Valley Dance Festival.

• Christopher Wheeldon, Tony and Olivier Award–winning choreographer whose work has been featured in numerous Fire Island Dance Festivals, presenting his acclaimed pas de deux This Bitter Earth. For the first time the role on pointe will be performed by nonbinary dancer Ashton Edwards, with soloist Christopher D’Ariano, both from Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Performers are subject to change.

On Saturday, May 31, Fire Island residents and visitors will be treated to a special pop-up performance with a new work from choreographer Jakob Karr, who is currently nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his Ain’t Done Bad. The pop-up will take place as ferries arrive and leave between 4 pm and 8 pm in the heart of Fire Island Pines harbor.

Leadership Supporters elevate their festival experience with a kickoff performance and intimate evening cocktails on Friday, July 18. Coveted kickoff performance tickets are extremely limited. Leadership Supporters also enjoy their choice of the highly anticipated sunset performance on Saturday or priority seating at either 5 pm performance, as well as recognition on printed materials in the harbor and throughout the Pines.

The exclusive Leadership Performance will feature festival favorite MOMIX, the dynamic and athletic dance company renowned for its visually captivating artistry. MOMIX’s return for the festival’s milestone 30th anniversary is especially significant, as the dance company headlined the first Leadership Performance, marking a full-circle moment in Fire Island Dance Festival history.

Take the hustle and hassle out of your Fire Island escape with our day trip package, featuring round-trip transportation from New York City, a champagne luncheon and tickets to the 5 pm performance on Sunday, July 20. A Sunday VIP option, which includes the champagne luncheon and tickets to the Sunday show without transportation, also is available. Get day trip tickets.

If you can’t attend but would like to support Fire Island Dance Festival, donate now.

Since its debut in 1995, Fire Island Dance Festival has raised more than $9.2 million to help provide lifesaving medication, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance to those in need in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Fire Island Dance Festival is generously supported by corporate sponsors The New York Times and United, the official airline of Broadway Cares.

Watch highlights from the 2024 Fire Island Dance Festival