Yalies united, stood up and danced this weekend to support New Haven AIDS victims.

Alliance for Dance members at Yale performed on the Woolsey Hall stage Saturday to raise money for AIDS Interfaith Network, a New Haven treatment center for the victims of the disease. ADAY is an umbrella organization that unites Yale’s diverse dance groups. This was the group’s fourth annual “Stand Up and Dance” performance.

Groups like YaleDancers, Rhythmic Blue, A Different Drum, Taps and DanceWorks brought together their diverse styles to perform more than 10 pieces for the crowd, which included both Yale students and New Haven residents. The comedic interpretive dancers, Les Freres Corbusiers, also joined these traditional groups. Organizers said they estimated about 50 people attended the event.

The performance encompassed a wide variety of styles that reflected the methods of each group.

“Each group did pieces that they’ve done in a previous performance, and rehearses on their own time,” said Arianna Romairone ’03, a member of A Different Drum.

Sidra Bell ’01 founded ADAY in 1997 to unify dance groups at Yale. The organization has sponsored workshops, performances and guest artists this year. Ticket returns from this performance will go directly to the AIDS Interfaith shelter on Chapel Street. In 1988, Elsie Cofield founded AIDS Interfaith, which now houses a 21-bed treatment center for local AIDS victims.

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