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Hudson Valley Dance Festival Returns to Catskill for 10th Anniversary
As the fall season breathes renewed life into the idyllic vistas that inspired Hudson Valley River School artists 200 years ago, it’s kismet that the community celebrates the 10th anniversary of Hudson Valley Dance Festival. The breathtaking performances from world-class dancers and choreographers, set for Saturday, October 7, ultimately pay forward goodwill, safety and support for our neighbors in need here and across the country.
Hudson Valley Dance Festival is a uniquely intimate and immersive experience for dance lovers. The harmony is unparalleled between the stunning views of the Hudson River outside Historic Catskill Point and the emerging and established dancers taking the stage just a few feet from the audience indoors.
The festival is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Proceeds from the festival provide meals, medication, counseling, health care and hope through annual grants to 15 vital organizations here in the Hudson Valley and 450 more throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.
This ripple effect, making a lifesaving difference for people living with HIV/AIDS or facing other life-threatening illnesses, would not be possible without the support of the incredibly generous festival audiences year after year.
“It cannot be understated how grateful we are to have been embraced by this art-forward community so much so that Hud- son Valley Dance Festival is now celebrating its 10th anniversary,” Dancers Responding to AIDS Founding Director Denise Roberts Hurlin said. ”There is so much excitement shared over this process of honoring and being part of the rich artistic history in the Hudson Valley.”
Hudson Valley Dance Festival could not have continued for a decade now without those who surround and support it. More than 10 years ago, three Greene County residents—Duke Dang, Charles Rosen and Todd Whitley—first thought of bringing world class dance to their Hudson Valley home while simultaneously helping their neighbors in need.
Dang, Rosen and Whitley dreamed of weaving Dancers Responding to AIDS’ unique performances (like the Fire Island Dance Festival, now 28 years in) into the existing cultural fabric of the Hudson Valley. Thanks to this magical seed of an idea and the generosity of Hudson Valley homeowners and Dancers Responding to AIDS supporters Nina Matis and Alan Gosule, the festival came to fruition and has grown into an annual must-see event. Through the festival’s nine iterations so far, its audiences have raised $1.2 million.
As the festival has grown—first from a single performance to now two performances at 2 pm and 5 pm—so, too, has Broadway Cares’ and Dancers Responding to AIDS’ commitment to the Hudson Valley.
When the festival premiered in 2013, Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program supported five organizations in the region. Today, that has tripled to 15: Albany Damien Center and Alliance for Positive Health in Albany; Animalkind and Columbia-Greene Community Foundation in Hudson; Catskill Food Pantry, Community Hospice and Matthew 25 Food Pantry in Catskill; Columbia County Recovery Kitchen in Rhinebeck; Hudson Valley Community Services in Hawthorne; Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston; Hudson Valley SPCA in New Windsor; Rock Steady Farm in Millerton; Roe Jan Food Pantry in Hillsdale; TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal) in Congers and Troy Area United Ministries in Troy.
For many across the Hudson Valley and around the country experiencing hardship, the community’s support of the festival literally means a healthy meal, a prescription refill or a doctor visit.
This fall’s Hudson Valley Dance Festival returns on Saturday, October 7, with its afternoon and evening performances. The festival will return to its home at the 130-year-old warehouse at Historic Catskill Point in Catskill, NY, transforming it into a picturesque performance venue with raised seating for 300.
The mutual embrace from the Hudson Valley residents and the festival brings renowned dance in an intimate and charitable spirit while the community endows the festival with its trademark charm and comfort.
This year’s eclectic lineup of emerging and established dancers and choreographers includes classically based modern dance company Alison Cook Beatty Dance; choreographer Holly Curran with a balletic piece performed by Dwayne Brown of Trainor Dance and Amber Neff; EMERGE125, a Black womanled company grounded in the vibrant artistic culture of Harlem; contemporary company FJK Dance, led by Fadi J. Khoury; choreographer and Broadway actor Reed Luplau sharing a contemporary duet performed by Broadway’s Gabriel Hyman and Stephen Hernandez; Parsons Dance, making its festival debut with internationally renowned, contemporary ensemble work; choreographer and Broadway veteran Corey John Snide creating a tap number with Capital District Arts Initiative; contemporary dance company Doug Varone & Dancers; and The Verdon Fosse Legacy presenting Sweet Gwen Suite. (Performers and choreographers are subject to change.)
Tickets are on sale now at dradance.org. VIP tickets and sponsorship packages include a cocktail reception, an exclusive dinner with the dancers after the 5 pm performance and an invitation to a behind-the-scenes look at Kenneth MacMillan’s Ballade and a reception on September 9 at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, NY. To celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary, increase your donation by 10 percent and be recognized in the program and online as an Anniversary Sponsor.
Since its first production in 2013, Hudson Valley Dance Festival has welcomed a wealth of dance talent from a range of styles, including tap dance from Caleb Teicher & Company and Dorrance Dance, ballet from Marcelo Gomes and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and contemporary and modern from Kyle Abraham/A.I.M, MADBOOTS DANCE, Martha Graham Dance Company, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pontus Lidberg Dance and Stephen Petronio Company, among many others.
After an extended hiatus due the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival returned in-person last year. Dancers and dance companies represented at last year’s festival included Dorrance Dance and Stephen Petronio Dance Company, making their returns to the festival, along with emerging choreographers Abdullatif, Jonathan Lee, Khadijah Siferlla and more. In celebration of the festival’s successful, record-breaking return, an additional $2,500 grant was shared with each of the Hudson Valley-based organizations that were already part of Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program.
“We’re overjoyed to continue sharing with those needing a helping hand the same generosity the Hudson Valley community has shown us now for a decade.” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said. “As our relationship with the community here has deepened, we’ve been able to expand our outreach to 15 organizations in the region. The people of the Hudson Valley have wholeheartedly supported the festival, through engaged participation as audience members and through genuine involvement in the grantmaking that the festival benefits.”
More information and tickets can be found at dradance.org.
