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 Abrahamperforming excerpts from Cassette, a nostalgic, referential work celebrating 80s and 90s camp
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. This year marks Grace’s 25th anniversary.
Gibney Danceoffering an excerpt from A Couple, an intimate and evocative duet exploring the shifting dynamics between two men.
Award-winning director, choreographer and creative producerJames 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 The Diner, by Black, trans, femme choreographer Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington. The Diner fuses vogue and ball culture with hip-hop and street jazz.
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
Leadership Supporters
Steering Committee
Chair: Roger Kluge
Mark Fortier & Jay Pagano Hal H. Hayes Nicole LaFountaine Christopher Mai & Matthew Markoff PJ McAteer Stacey Newton Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas Robert Schaffer Peter Schamel Martin Wechsler JD Winston & Michael Walsh
Benefit Committee
Ward Auerbach & Andy Baker Gray Coleman & Brian Theis Hernando Cortez Jr. Ronald Marc Feinstein Edrie Ferdun Chris Fraley Roger Hirsch & Drew Souza Lisa Jaffe Alan Klein Robert Levy Marius Meland & Eng Kian Ooi Jane Newman Lubart Tara Moira McBride Steve McGee Brian McGuiness & Steven Younes Dave Minear Virun Rampersad & David Pavese Janet Rollé Eric Sawyer Vernon Scott Ellen Sirot & Peter Pucci George Slowik Jr. & Brian T. Callaway Marc Viscardi Matthew Woolf & Steven Filenbaum
Major Sponsors
The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation in memory of Diana King Karen & Walter Boss The Dream Alliance Mary D. Fisher Judy Gluckstern Jane Groveman & Cathy Tanelli Hal H. Hayes Jim Heslin – Secret Villas James Pepper Stephen Kroll Reidy Peter Schwartz & Rick Weber SHS Foundation in memory of Tom Morgan Rockefeller Brothers Fund Christian Zimmermann & Jim Coakley Anonymous
Legacy
The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation in memory of Diana King Christopher T Coad, MD/Kevin Kowalski/Chelsea Eye Ophthalmology Marta Heflin Foundation Durrell Parrish & Albert Lepage Stephen Kroll Reidy Rockefeller Brothers Fund SHS Foundation in memory of Tom Morgan Christian Zimmermann & Jim Coakley
Titanium
Andy Baker & Ward Auerbach Mark Bergamini & Christopher Oates Bob Howard Real Estate/fireislandpineshomes.com Mark Fortier & Jay Pagano Padma Ooi Meland, Eng Kian Ooi & Marius Meland The Omomuki Foundation Henry Robin & Bob McGarity
Platinum
Sully Bonnelly & Robert Littman Frank Duff & John Okuloski Macquarie Group Robert N. Alfandre Family Kevin Roon & Simon Yates Andrew Tobias
Party Sponsors
Steven Filenbaum & Matthew Woolf PJ McAteer Padma Ooi Meland, Eng Kian Ooi & Marius Meland Peter Schwartz & Rick Weber Randy Wilson, John Wood & Michael Crisafulli
Gold
John Alger & Bill Lynch Duni Bauta Karen & Walter Boss John Clifford & Claude Drolet Christopher Collins Thomas Cott & Shayne De Lima James Dale & David Lam Randolph Dreyer Brian Dumont Robert Faust & Roger Kluge Daniel Feinstein & Diego Robles Molina in honor of Jack Schlegel Fire Island Pines Property Owners’ Association Dr. Michael Giordano and friends at 603 Tuna Walk Doug Harris & Bill Van Parys Hal H. Hayes, Richard Parsakian, David Sloan & Steve Norring Dr. Jaime Huertas & Mr. Kenneth A. O’Brien Nicole LaFountaine Dr. Rob Levy Mark McGuire & Craig Wilson Robert Michel in Memory of Clark Green Isaac Namdar & Andrew Mitchell-Namdar Stacey Newton & Steven Lewis James Pepper Richard Pittelli & Gino Chiapparelli Rory Pottruck & Max Virun Rampersad & David Pavese Ken Ruebush & Jeff Zimman Robert Schaffer Jim Vandernoth & Mark Ricigliano Anonymous
Silver
Jonathan Aronowitz, Bradley Scalise & David Weigand Miguel Barrio & Jeff Woods Allan Baum & Frank Liberto Matt Boethin Jill Braufman Alison Buck, TOLA Gary Clinton, Don Millinger & Julian Kosma Neil Cohn & John Brown Rob Delgado & Bruce Bunnell Peter Farrell Edrie Ferdun Randy Fields & Rob Geer Atilano Gimenes Jane Groveman & Cathy Tanelli David Hansell & Rob Cimino Laura & Mike Hartstein Tami Hausman & James Crispino Adam Sean Hickey Bill &Pat Hildebrandt Arthur M. Kaplan & R. Duane Perry Noel Kirnon Leland and Stephen David Nickle & Hal Rubenstein John Orsato Stephen Paine Jerry & Myron Pavlon-Blum Ralph M. Randazzo, Esq. Vernon Scott Howard Sendrovitz & David Sinclair George Slowik Jr. & Brian T. Callaway Jeffrey Soref Steven Clay Art Appraisal Bruce Stuart Tim Warmath & Ed Comber JD Winston & Michael Walsh
Bronze
David Aldea & Paddy Pilkington Christopher Arruda Cathy Barbash & Michael Riley Jose Barral in loving memory of Peter J. Boffa Amy & David Bibbey Jeffrey Blair & Ivor Clark Karen Bond Torrence Boone & Paul Masse Robert Bracken & George Applegate Bernardo Coindreau &David Williams Joseph Conforti & Douglas Jakubowski Brian Conrad & Leonard Vanella Marc Cote John Dempsey Guy Desimini/Sal Davola The Feinsteins – Karen, Patty and Ron Darrell M. W. George & Scott Turner Robert Gray Joe Hickey & Jim McConnell Rachel Hyman Brad Ingalls & Emrah Akyildiz Carl Johnson Marc Juris & Luis Barraza Judith & Richard Kingman David Kneuss Michael Krans & Matt Rice John Krawchuk & Vinnie Petrarca Karl Krumholz & Dick Limoges Christopher Leary Craig Linden MD, Grady & John Paul Chris Longobucco, Ryan Rinck & Fern Lee Lorenzo López & Matthew Mayer Kevin Marpoe Louis Martarano & Roland Ballester The Mathias Family David Minear & David Lawlor Nora Mongardi Mark Murashige Sean D. Pierce MD Matt Pisanelli Zac Pollinger & Richard Cote Dave Rimple & Paul Teixeira Richard Sadovsky Alvaro Salas Schierenberg Harris Family Dr. Ed Schulhafer & Crayton Robey Steven Shulem & Riley Britton Ellen Sirot & Peter Pucci Anibal Soto & Mark Pasetsky Paul Stanwick Mark Sundstedt James Suskin Hugh Switzer Lee Testa Paul Travis Michael Tully & Daniel Smith Mark Tyner Richard & Josef Upton Carol Walbye Stephen Weitzman & John Kneapler James Jay Wilson Elisa Zinberg & Dr. Sue Morter David Zuy Anonymous