Dance Against Cancer returns to stage with touching performance by Chadwick Boseman's brother
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- If the final round of rehearsals is any indication of what's to come then Dance Against Cancer's annual fundraising event will be spectacular.
"We go in with the expectation of knowing these dancers and maybe these pieces by again we haven't seen it live for a year and a half and I think people are starving for that as much as audiences are, dancers are as well," said Daniel Ulbricht, Dance Against Cancer, Co-Founder.
It is just one of many performances that will unfold on stage for the first time outside at 20 Lincoln Plaza Monday night.
"This is really an opening up and honesty a returning home for many of the dancers that do perform at Lincoln Center," said Erin Fogarty, Dance Against Cancer, Co-Founder.
The event has raised millions for the American Cancer Society since 2010. It's a way for Fogarty and Ulbricht to honor their parents who both died of cancer.
"This program really embodies the joy of dance, my parents instilled in me," Ulbricht said. "You will never work a day in your life if you love something."
This year's in-person event serves several purposes.
"A big part of our mission in this event is a return to the stage for us, but also a return to screening, think it's about 22 million people didn't get screening for cancer last year," Fogarty said.
In what will no doubt be a very touching moment, the closing performance is by Kevin Boseman, a former Ailey dancer, and cancer survivor. His brother Chadwick died of the same disease in late August.
"The piece to close the program is a tribute to our heroes and we've all learned in the last year and a half hero applies to a lot of people in our lives we didn't realize before. It's a lovefest and celebration of all those people and even though they are no longer with us, will be with us on stage," Fogarty said.
Tickets are still available for purchase.
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