Atlanta Ballet will showcase a world premiere piece at Dancers Responding to AIDS’ 14th Annual Fire Island Dance Festival on July 19th –20th, 2008.
Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) is a charity organization that seeks to support people living with HIV/AIDS, social services for performing professionals, and women’s health programs. The Fire Island Dance Festival, DRA’s signature event, is hailed as “the charity event of the season” by The New York Times and “the most prestigious and important artistic event held each summer on Fire Island” by the Fire Island Tide.
The festival has thus far raised more than $1.3 million for DRA’s charity fund. Dance performances take place on the seaside stage of Fire Island, against the backdrop of the Great South Bay’s sunset.
Atlanta Ballet’s performance will showcase two female company members,
Peng-Yu Chen and Tara Lee. The two will be interpreting the colorful, unusual Spottiswoods & His Enemies’ song “That’s What I Like,” a devilish take on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music.
“The piece is a work in alternatives and juxtapositions, nonverbal conversations, layers of emotion,” says John McFall, Atlanta Ballet Artistic Director. Ms. Lee and Ms. Chen dance as two wildly different painters of one masterpiece in this bold performance, one that McFall likens to “a teaser – delightful, entertaining, fun that exudes the Fire Island spirit of getting away and having fun with friends.” At the end of the powerful piece, however, the catharsis equals that of a full-length production: everything given, nothing reserved.
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