Fire Island Dance Festival

Fire Island Dance Festival 2026 poster

July 18-19
Fire Island Pines, Fire Island, NY

Fire Island Dance Festival returns this summer, bringing together captivating performances, breathtaking waterfront views and a passionate community dedicated to making a difference.

Set on an awe-inspiring waterfront stage overlooking the Great South Bay, the festival transforms its Fire Island Pines environs into a living theater where movement, community and nature combine.

Audiences gather for performances that are as intimate as they are euphoric, pairing the artistry of leading dance companies with the electric energy of the island, all in support of Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Each performance features the same lineup. The initial performers set for this year’s festival include:

  • Broadway and film’s Chris Jarosz opening the festival with a high-voltage world premiere, brought to life by a powerhouse lineup of Broadway dancers.
  • Miami City Ballet presenting an excerpt from Roses from the South: Three Waltzes for Toby, a stirring work by Alexei Ratmansky, one of the world’s preeminent ballet choreographers. The performance marks Ratmansky’s Fire Island Dance Festival debut.
  • Broadway favorite Ricky Ubeda, who also won So You Think You Can Dance, sharing a world premiere shaped by his signature, zeitgeist-savvy sensibility and electric style.
  • Jake Vincent, previously of Paul Taylor Dance Company, bringing a world premiere pulsing with bold energy, where sweeping movement and quiet intimacy converge.

Additional artists will be announced soon. Performers are subject to change.

Beginning May 23, tickets also will be available in person on weekends in the Fire Island Pines harbor.

To kick off the harbor sales, special pop-up performances will transform the Pines dock into a stage as the ferry arrives at 5:15 pm, 6:15 pm and 7:15 pm on Saturday, May 23. The free, 10-minute performances, choreographed by Pines resident and Broadway powerhouse Jōvan Dansberry and set to the music of George Michael, will provide a taste of the dance festival creativity still to come.

Leadership Supporters elevate their festival experience with an exclusive performance and intimate evening on Friday, July 17, at Whyte Hall. Access to the Leadership performance is extremely limited. Leadership Supporters also enjoy their choice of the sought-after sunset performance on Saturday or priority seating at either 5 pm performance, along with recognition on printed materials throughout the harbor and the Pines.

Slip away to Fire Island Dance Festival with an effortless, all-inclusive day trip, featuring round-trip transportation from New York City, a champagne luncheon and tickets to the 5 pm performance on Sunday, July 19. A Sunday VIP option is also available and includes the champagne luncheon and tickets to the Sunday performance. Get daytrip or VIP tickets.

Since its debut in 1995, Fire Island Dance Festival has raised more than $10 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.

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

Watch highlights from the 2025 Fire Island Dance Festival

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