The 31st edition of Fire Island Dance Festival celebrated the community and legacy of Fire Island Pines with captivating performances, bold new works and extraordinary artistry, bringing audiences together for an unforgettable exhibition of dance and philanthropy.

While Saturday’s turbulent weather altered the festival schedule, the sunshine poured in for two sensational Sunday performances set against the cerulean sea. 

This year’s moving edition of Fire Island Pines’ longest-running charitable and cultural event raised a record-breaking $826,018 for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The festival, held July 18 & 19, 2026, supports performing artists as well as people across the country living with HIV/AIDS and other debilitating illnesses, ensuring they have access to lifesaving medications, nutritious meals, counseling services and emergency assistance. The professional dance community receives support through Broadway Cares’ annual support of the Entertainment Community Fund’s vital safety net of services. 

The lineup this year included the Fire Island Dance Festival debut of globally renowned choreographer Alexei Ratmansky with Miami City Ballet, as well as four astounding world premieres from Chris Jarosz, Leggybones Physical Theater, Ricky Ubeda and Jake Vincent.

The festival featured nine vivid and versatile performances:

In Bloom, the liberating opening performance created by theater and film choreographer and dancer Chris Jarosz, featured a bevy of Broadway dancers merging elements of classic ballet with contemporary dance in the world premiere work. The freeing, fluid movement of the ten-person ensemble blossomed into the physical embodiment of blooming flora, kicking off the event with effortless grace and abundant joy. 

Inspired by the entwined nature of its namesake plant, the mandrake, New Chamber Ballet delivered Mandragore, choreographed by the company’s founder, Miro Magloire. The duet – performed by Nicole McGinnis and Amber Neff – featured a series of gravity-defying lifts and interwoven silhouettes. Through their quiet intensity, the duo explored the intersection of power and intimacy.

While creating The Singer and the Song, Smuin Contemporary Ballet choreographer Maggie Carey was guided by the soothing melodies of singer-songwriter Labi Siffre, who has been writing queer love songs for men since the ‘70s. Featuring a series of breathtaking duets and quartets, buoyant dancers brought additional tenderness to Siffre’s “Bless the Telephone” and “Cannock Chase.” Their elongated movements and nuanced sensitivity created an exuberant portrait of the complexities of the human experience.

First Comes Love, an entrancing piece choreographed by Complexions Contemporary Ballet Co-Founding Artistic Director Dwight Rhoden, captured the instant spark, exhilaration and uncertainty of a new romance. Performed by Jillian Davis and Joe González, this flirtatious duet featured a striking balance of angular and flowing movement, highlighted by moments of Davis en pointe throughout the work.

Inspired by the romance of the Italian coast, the world premiere of Jake Vincent’s Until Then traced the anticipation, longing and exhilaration of finding one another. The romantic pairings formed within Vincent’s enchanting ensemble unfolded into a tender exploration of intimacy and vulnerability, beginning with sweeping jazz-infused choreography before seamlessly transitioning into a classical-inspired finale. 

Tony Award nominee Robbie Fairchild presented a preview excerpt of his newest dance-theater work, Lord Chamberlain’s Men – inspired, as Fairchild shared from the stage, by Shakespeare’s “126 sonnets about a boy.” This solo piece explored identity, longing and the endless possibilities that await when eternal summer does not fade. Fairchild leaped and bounded across the stage, both explosive in energy and laser-focused in precision and technique. The expansive examination of forbidden love will have its world premiere in September at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance.

Fusing contemporary dance with high-stakes acrobatics, Leggybones Physical Theater astounded audiences with playful physicality in the world premiere This for Now, pushing the limits of movement, trust and human connection. Leggybones founders Casey Bronwyn Howes and Jacob Michael Warren’s emotional and physical tether brought the art of movement to new heights, balancing comedic timing with intimate and expressive choreography. In a poignant finale, the duo fell from the stage, creating the illusion that they dove into the sea below.

Anytime Now, the genre-defying world premiere work from choreographer Ricky Ubeda, crackled with kinetic energy and emotional urgency, further establishing him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary dance. His fearless ensemble shifted seamlessly between razor-sharp precision and fluid, sensual movement, exploring the tension between longing and self-restraint.

”It’s about the illusion of really being ready,” Ubeda said. “Waking up in the morning and knowing what you’ve wanted for a really long time, and realizing you haven’t made any steps toward that thing. Fall in love with taking your fear with you and go for it.”

The festival concluded with Miami City Ballet’s magnificent excerpt of the prolific Alexei Ratmansky’s Roses from the South: Three Waltzes for Toby. The exaltant troupe of performers utilized their impeccable form to blend the grandeur of classical ballet technique with modern, playful choreography. The dancers explored what it means to be smitten through elegant staging, flawless grand jetés and graceful pirouettes.

The festivities officially kicked off on Friday with an exclusive evening for Leadership Supporters, featuring an electric excerpt from tap dancer Luke Hickey’s A Little Old, A Little New. Hickey was joined by fellow tappers John Manzari and Tommy Wasiuta. Accompanied by a live jazz trio made possible by generous support from Omomuki Live Music for Dance, their captivating command of rhythm and joyful homage to classical tap set the weekend off to a fiery start. 

Emmy Award winner and 2026 Emmy nominee Jeff Hiller hosted this year’s festival with his signature warmth, wit and enthusiasm. He delighted audiences with the story of attending his first Fire Island Dance Festival more than 20 years ago, sharing how he happily paid $50 to sleep on someone’s floor in Cherry Grove so he could watch his former roommate perform in the show.

Through Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program, which supports more than 480 organizations across the country, Dancers Responding to AIDS and Broadway Cares reaffirmed their dedication to support health care in the Fire Island Pines community with an annual $25,000 grant to the Pines Care Center. This vital support helps ensure continued access to essential medications and resources, underscoring the organizations’ ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of the Fire Island Pines community.

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

Fire Island Dance Festival is generously supported by corporate sponsor The New York Times.

Photos by Curtis Brown and Elyse Mertz
Video by Josh Drake, Víctor Rodríguez and Bardo Arts Productions

Event Program

Read bios of this year’s dancers, choreographers and dance companies >