Heart and Soles

In the early 1990s, the realities of the AIDS epidemic were still being fully realized; but its presence was especially felt in the performing arts world. Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez — then-members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company — took note of the disturbing mark that AIDS had made in their own community, and soon founded Dancers Responding to AIDS, an organization that remains a luminous presence throughout the dance community.

“It was a call to action where we really just wanted to be heard,” Hurlin says of forming DRA. “It was making a comment that the dance world was important, and that these people were important to us.”

Today, DRA — which officially became a part of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 1993 — continues to raise funds for its mission through a variety of fund-raising events. Its next one is Dance From The Heart, a compilation of performances from all realms of the dance world, which will take place March 21-22 at Cedar Lake Theatre in Chelsea.

“Cedar Lake has this beautiful fantastic space down in Chelsea,” says Hurlin.
They very generously donate their space to us as well as their staff — all of their people work the event. But the best thing is that they offer us an opportunity to unite a huge array of different styles of dance as well as showing off some of the most innovative and captivating choreography, too.”

As Hurlin points out, many of New York’s top dancers participate in the event. “The shows reflect the vast array of talent that make up the diverse New York City dance community. DRA is blessed to have dancers and choreographers from every genre perform: from Marcelo Gomes, principal at American Ballet Theatre, to Andrea Miller, artistic director at Gallim Dance; from dancers in the Broadway companies of The Addams Family and La Cage Aux Folles to Brian Brooks Moving Company and tapper Cartier Williams.”

The group also raises funds in a variety of other ways, including having a table in the yearly BC/EFA Flea Market that takes place in Shubert Alley. In addition, DRA receives a significant amount of its contributions from post-performance appeals. “You just saw someone perform their heart out, and rather than use a direct mailing or a letter, you have human outreach and that makes all the difference for us,” says Hurlin.

On some occasions, a particular organization will even devote proceeds from one of their performances. For example, on February 25, the Paul Taylor Dance Company held a special performance at New York City Center to benefit DRA, an event spearheaded in part by Rachel Berman, the development officer for Paul Taylor Dance Company. “Our company members perform in a lot of these benefits on their own time and on their own schedules,” Berman says. “We’ve all been affected by AIDS and have lost dancers and friends along the way.”

Coming up in July is DRA’s signature event, The Fire Island Dance Festival, which now spans two days, with over 1,000 people expected to attend. The event, which is considered a highlight of the summer season in the Pines, raised $260,000 last year. Some of the finest dancers in the country participate yearly, and past celebrity hosts have included Bruce Vilanch and Whoopi Goldberg.

“It’s important you utilize everyone in the dance community because we serve everyone in the dance community,” Hurlin says of DRA’s fundraisers. “Because whether you’re a Broadway dancer, ballet dancer or a modern dancer — we’re working for all of them.”

For more information about DRA or Dance from the Heart, visit www.dradance.org.