Conceived by Phill Wilson and Desmond Richardson, and inspired by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ annual Fire Island Dance Festival, Artists and Activists for Health Equity launched Dance for Life in 2021 to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and other health issues confronting marginalized communities.

The Dance for Life festival is a multi-cultural, multi-genre dance festival to benefit organizations doing critical work fighting for health equity. The 2024 recipients are the AMAAD Institute; Better Brothers LA scholarship fund; St. John’s Community Health; and amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research. The 2023 festival featured 11 dance companies and over 60 dancers. 

This year’s festival will include 22 dance companies and 80 dancers from around the world, presenting a vast range of dance disciplines including classical ballet, contemporary ballet, Mexican folk, ballroom, salsa, hip hop, aerial, and others. The 2024 program will feature 11 dance companies followed by an audience talk back and Q&A session with leading choreographers.