The stars aligned at the historic Apollo Theaterfor the World AIDS Day Event. In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) partnered with Debbie Allen to host “Keeping the Promise – 1,000,000 Lives in Care: Celebrating Icons of Dance,” a star-studded event.
“As AHF continues its global mission to provide cutting-edge medical care to those living with HIV and AIDS regardless of their ability to pay, the World AIDS Day event at the Apollo recognized a momentous milestone for AHF: As we now have over one million lives in care!,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AHF.
“As part of the evening, we were pleased to also honor, recognize, and celebrate the exemplary work of icon, Debbie Allen, who throughout her career has been a strong and steadfast voice in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Ms. Allen was presented AHF’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award, which the organization has only previously presented only once — to the legendary artist, humanitarian, and activist, Harry Belafonte.”
The evening included presentations by an array of cultural icons, including George Faison; Phylicia Rashad; prima ballerina, Misty Copeland; and a special musical tribute by the original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday. The line-up of performances was a who’s-who in dance, including Philadanco, The Syncopated Ladies, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Ailey II, Jason Samuels Smith, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem.
The powerful evening also included tributes to dance legends that have died due to AIDS related complications, including Ulysses Dove, Michael Peters, Gene Anthony Ray, Michael Bennett, Rudolph Nuryev, and Alvin Ailey. A special tribute was also given to legendary dancer/choreographer and co-founder of The Dance Theater of Harlem, Arthur Mitchell, for his leadership in civil rights, through the genre of dance.
The evening attracted a diverse array of luminaries including Norm Nixon, Award winning vocalists Gordon Chambers and Melba Moore, choreographer Louis Johnson, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Robert Garland, and Tony-award winning artist Lillias White.
This annual World AIDS Day event, presented in New York for the first time, was not only an amazing evening of cultural offering, but also served as an opportunity to recognize the advancements that have been achieved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the work that is still to be done in continuing to eradicate this devastating epidemic. Free, rapid, one-minute HIV testing was also provided during the event.
Under its “Keep the Promise on HIV/AIDS!” banner, AHF celebrated and acknowledged the progress made in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The Apollo event, like other AHF World AIDS Day events, also served as a reminder to political and local community leaders that with almost one million deaths and nearly two million new infections occurring last year alone, there is still much work to be done in the global fight to defeat the epidemic.
The Apollo event, like other AHF World AIDS Day events, also served as a reminder to political and local community leaders that with almost one million deaths and nearly two million new infections occurring last year alone, there is still much work to be done in the global fight to defeat the epidemic.www.ahf.org/WAD
Photo Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for AHF
