Hudson Valley Dance Festival returns for its 13th edition next month, intertwining world-class performance with tangible philanthropic impact. This year, interdisciplinary dance company Gallim continues a longstanding relationship with the festival and with the Hudson Valley community itself.
For Gallim choreographer and artistic director Andrea Miller, whose company returns to Hudson Valley Dance Festival for the third time, the festival’s mission directly aligns with the mission of her organization and what she believes the ethos of movement to be as a whole: to bridge the gaps between us and to serve as a beacon for hope.
“Dance is deeply rooted in humanity and humanness,” Miller says. “Hudson Valley Dance Festival takes away a sort of helpless feeling about whether or not you’re actually doing anything, and that stirs this sense of community. It’s unique; it’s really important and very special.”
Hudson Valley Dance Festival brings acclaimed artists and choreographers together for two diverse performances, held Saturday, October 10, at 2pm and 5pm, along the scenic banks of the Hudson River at Historic Catskill Point in Catskill. Proceeds from the festival provide healthy meals, vital medication, healthcare and other essential social services to 19 local nonprofits in the Hudson Valley region and beyond through Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ National Grants Program. Dancers Responding to AIDS is a program of Broadway Cares.
Since its first performance in 2013, the festival has welcomed a treasure trove of talent across genres—tap from Caleb Teicher & Company, ballet from Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and modern and contemporary from Parsons Dance and Paul Taylor Dance Company, among many others. “We formed Dancers Responding to AIDS with the mission of mobilizing performing artists for a cause dear to our hearts,” says Founding Director Denise Roberts Hurlin. “To see the growth, generosity, and bountiful support we’ve been met with throughout the years is truly a gift.”
Gallim makes its highly anticipated return to the region with a preview of an imaginative new work that is set to premiere its full half-hour rendition at Manhattan’s The Joyce Theater in November. To see Miller’s vision come to life onstage, purchase tickets at dradance.org/hvdance.
“When you’re an artist, you’re just hopeful that you’re doing something that is good in this world,” Miller says. “Dancers Responding to AIDS gives you a chance to feel the concrete impact. We all feel like we’re part of something that historically we know our community benefits from.”
Hudson Valley Dance Festival takes place on Saturday, October 10, at 2pm and 5pm at Historic Catskill Point in Catskill. Tickets available here.
