Choreography for a Cause: the Ailey Dancers' Resource Fund

July 17, 2013

Everyone knows that Ailey dancers are some of the hardest working performers in the biz—they spend five months on the road bringing their luscious dancing to an appreciative audience worldwide, in addition to two seasons here at home in NYC. (We’re eagerly anticipating the amazing rep of the December run.)

This weekend, the company dancers are looking towards the (hopefully) distant future. All proceeds from “Dance Works Unhinged,” a self-produced show at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, benefit the Ailey Dancers’ Resource Fund. ADRF sets money aside for current and former Ailey dancers for career transitions, choreographic projects, and for loans for injury-related emergencies. (We can’t stress how much we support this kind of proactive thinking about your life outside of performing.)

In addition to helping a great cause, the audience is in for an additional treat: We’ll get to see what 10 Ailey dancers do as choreographer, working with dancers they know intimately—their fellow company members. Hope Boykin, Sean A. Carmon, Vernard J. Gilmore, Megan Jakel, Yannick Lebrun, Jamar Roberts, Matthew Rushing, Kanji Segawa, Jermaine Terry, and Marcus Jarrell Willis will all contribute pieces. And we’re lucky that this performance benefit, which started in 1996, is back after a five-year hiatus, which was due to the Ailey dancers’ jam-packed tour schedule.

Purchase tickets to “Dance Works Unhinged,” running Saturday, July 20th at 7:30PM and Sunday, July 21st at 3:00PM, here.