Dance Project and Dream Center Academy dancers with (front) Dream Center teacher Anjuli Bova and Dance Project teacher Annie Ippolito at dress rehearsal for the benefit performance. Even though Dance Project teacher Annie Ippolito is busy planning the final details of her wedding in the fall, she and her fiancé decided to give their time and effort to fund a dance benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation this summer. Annie's cousin suffers from the disease.

On July 19 at the Jeanne Rimsky Theater in Port Washington, the girls from Garden City Community Dance Project joined with dancers from the Dream Center Academy in Amityville in a standout performance of select pieces from their spring shows. Between the numbers, Dance Project members Cristin Crowley, Olivia Zimmer, Megan O'Donnell and Maggie Raymond also read facts about Cystic Fibrosis. Dance Project alumna and staffer Julie Zizzamia assisted with publicity and backstage tasks including running a moving video about Cystic Fibrosis that concluded the show.

This was a wonderful experience for the girls to give back through the love for their art and to work together with dancers from another dance school. The benefit raised over $4,300 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in ticket, raffle, bracelet and CD sales. "I hope the girls learned that with a little hard work and dedication, you can do anything you set your mind to and make a difference," said Annie. "If they all take that with them, then I feel the benefit was even more of a success than I could have ever dreamed of!"

CDs of the music from the show are still available at $10 each along with bracelets at $2 each, and all proceeds go directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you are interested in purchasing a CD or bracelet to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, e-mail the company at communitydanceproject@yahoo.com.