Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Premieres Home, A New Work Inspired by the Winning Photos and Essays from the 2011 REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) "Fight HIV Your Way" Contest, an Initiative of Bristol-Myers Squibb
World AIDS Day premiere of Home is influenced by the personal stories of individuals fighting HIV their way
PRINCETON, N.J. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater today announced the premiere of an original dance, Home, created by Ailey and inspired by the real stories and images from the ten first place winners of the 2011 REYATAZ "Fight HIV Your Way" contest. Since its inception in 2006, the contest has leveraged the power of words and the visual arts as a platform to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among the general public and inspire people impacted by the disease to continue their fight. This year, the "Fight HIV Your Way" contest broke new ground to honor the diverse and personal journeys of people impacted by HIV in the form of dance. Home will premiere on World AIDS Day, December 1, as part of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2011-2012 New York City Center season and will be performed across the country on the Company's 2012 U.S. Tour.
REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people 6 years of age and older who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ should not be taken if patients are allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.
"The world premiere of Home on December 1 is symbolic in that it is both World AIDS Day and the day that our founder, Alvin Ailey, passed away from the disease in 1989," said Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Contest Judge. "Ailey's mission has always been about using dance to celebrate the human spirit and bringing new works to life that share important stories. This tradition aligns perfectly with the ‘Fight HIV Your Way' initiative by using the power of the arts to raise awareness about a very significant issue."
The first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported more than 30 years ago, and despite disease education efforts there are still more than one million people with HIV in the U.S. and the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that approximately 56,000 new infections occur each year in the U.S. alone. In fact, every nine and a half minutes, someone is infected with HIV.
"This year marks the third time Bristol-Myers Squibb is sponsoring the ‘Fight HIV Your Way' contest, an innovative program that continues to encourage people infected with or affected by HIV to keep fighting and to join us in our fight to help reduce the stigma for people living with HIV," said Raymond Sacchetti, senior vice president, U.S. Virology, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Together, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are celebrating the inspiring stories of our first place winners and raising awareness in support of people living with HIV."
More than 1,300 people across the country submitted photos and essays to the "Fight HIV Your Way" contest that describe how they fight HIV. These entries were narrowed down by a distinguished panel of judges to ten first place winners based on the impact of the photographs' and essays' expression of the fight against HIV, creativity, originality and overall artistic quality. The bold hip-hop choreographer, Rennie Harris, has taken these powerful, personal stories and used them as inspiration for Home, set to the soul-lifting score of gospel house music.
"Home is a bold new work - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's first-ever original dance to recognize the continued HIV epidemic," said Robert Battle, Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. "It is a tribute to Alvin Ailey's enduring spirit and pioneering legacy. The ‘Fight HIV Your Way' initiative has enabled us to bring to the stage compelling stories about the individual and collective fight against HIV, through the unique perspective of hip hop choreographer Rennie Harris."
"I know from my experience on the stage that the performing arts are vital in shedding light and bringing to life the real stories of those touched by HIV, and that is why I am excited to be involved in Bristol-Myers Squibb's ‘Fight HIV Your Way' initiative for the third time," said original Broadway Dreamgirl Sheryl Lee Ralph, a spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council and creator and producer of the HIV-inspired, award-winning Broadway shows Divas Simply Singing! and Sometimes I Cry. "This contest provides an artistic platform to highlight the personal stories and struggles of individuals touched by HIV, serving an important role in helping to reduce the stigma that many people living with HIV continue to face. This year, on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's stage, the photos and essays will literally move, and continue to provide courage and strength for others with HIV."
Visit www.fightHIVyourway.com to see the winning photos and essays of the REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) "Fight HIV Your Way" contest and the inspiration for Home.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION About REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate)
INDICATION: REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people 6 years of age and older who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ has been studied in a 48-week trial in patients who have taken anti-HIV medicines and a 96-week trial in patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines.
REYATAZ does not cure HIV or lower your chance of passing HIV to others. People taking REYATAZ may still get opportunistic infections or other conditions that happen with HIV infection.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:
Do not take REYATAZ if you are allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.
Do not take REYATAZ if you are taking the following medicines due to potential for serious, life-threatening side effects or death:
Versed® (midazolam) when taken by mouth, Halcion® (triazolam), ergot medicines (dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, ergotamine, and methylergonovine such as Cafergot®, Migranal®, D.H.E. 45®, ergotrate maleate, Methergine®, and others), Propulsid® (cisapride), or Orap® (pimozide).
Do not take REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) with the following medicines due to potential for serious side effects: Camptosar® (irinotecan), Crixivan® (indinavir), Mevacor® (lovastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin), Uroxatral® (alfuzosin), or Revatio® (sildenafil).
Do not take REYATAZ with the following medicines as they may lower the amount of REYATAZ in your blood, which may lead to increased HIV viral load and resistance to REYATAZ or other anti-HIV medicines: rifampin (also known as Rimactane®, Rifadin®, Rifater®, or Rifamate®), St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)-containing products, or Viramune® (nevirapine).
Serevent Diskus® (salmeterol) and Advair® (salmeterol with fluticasone) are not recommended with REYATAZ.
Do not take Vfend® (voriconazole) if you are taking REYATAZ and Norvir® (ritonavir).
The above lists of medicines are not complete. Taking REYATAZ with some other medicines may require your therapy to be monitored more closely or may require a change in dose or dose schedule of REYATAZ or the other medicine. Discuss with your healthcare provider all prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamin and herbal supplements, or other health preparations you are taking or plan to take.
Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. REYATAZ use during pregnancy has not been associated with an increase in birth defects. Pregnant women have experienced serious side effects when taking REYATAZ with other HIV medicines called nucleoside analogues. After your baby is born, tell your healthcare provider if your baby's skin or the white part of his/her eyes turns yellow. You should not breast-feed if you are HIV-positive.
Also tell your healthcare provider if you have end-stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis or severe liver dysfunction.
Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any side effects, symptoms, or conditions, including the following:
Mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs in patients taking REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate), most often in the first few weeks after the medicine is started, and usually goes away within 2 weeks with no change in treatment.
Severe rash may develop with other symptoms that could be serious and potentially cause death. If you develop a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop using REYATAZ and call your healthcare provider right away:
Shortness of breath
General ill-feeling or "flu-like" symptoms
Fever
Muscle or joint aches
Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes, like "pink-eye")
Blisters
Mouth sores
Swelling of your face
Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes may occur due to increases in bilirubin levels in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver).
A change in the way your heart beats may occur. You may feel dizzy or lightheaded. These could be symptoms of a heart problem.
Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate). Some patients may need changes in their diabetes medicine.
If you have liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, it may get worse when you take anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.
Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ. Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in your side, blood in your urine, and pain when you urinate.
Some patients with hemophilia have increased bleeding problems with protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking anti-HIV medicines. The cause and long-term effects are not known at this time.
Immune reconstitution syndrome has been seen in some patients with advanced HIV infection (AIDS) and a history of opportunistic infection. Signs and symptoms of inflammation from previous infections may occur soon after starting anti-HIV treatment, including REYATAZ.
Gallbladder disorders (including gallstones and gallbladder inflammation) have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ.
Other common side effects of REYATAZ taken with other anti-HIV medicines include: nausea; headache; stomach pain; vomiting; diarrhea; depression; fever; dizziness; trouble sleeping; numbness, tingling, or burning of hands or feet; and muscle pain.
You should take REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) once daily with food (a meal or snack). Swallow the capsules whole; do not open the capsules. You should take REYATAZ and your other anti-HIV medicines exactly as instructed by your healthcare provider.
Available REYATAZ capsule strengths include 200 mg and 300 mg.
Please see accompanying Full Prescribing Information, or click here.
About Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congressional resolution as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World," grew from a now fabled 1958 New York performance that changed American dance. Founded by Alvin Ailey, and guided by Judith Jamison beginning in 1989, the Company is now led by Robert Battle, whom Judith Jamison chose to succeed her on July 1, 2011. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed for an estimated 23 million people in 71 countries on 6 continents, promoting the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance tradition. The Ailey organization also includes Ailey II (1974), a second performing company of emerging young dancers and innovative choreographers; The Ailey School (1969), one of the most extensive dance training programs in the world; Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs, which brings dance into the classrooms, communities and lives of people of all ages; and The Ailey Extension (2005), a program offering dance and fitness classes to the general public, which began with the opening of Ailey's permanent home-the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City, the dance capital of the world-named The Joan Weill Center for Dance, at 55th Street at 9th Avenue in New York City. For more information, visit www.AlvinAiley.org.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.bms.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmsnews.
REYATAZ is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and not of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Contacts
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Media:
Cristi Barnett, 609-252-6028
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Investors:
John Elicker, 609-252-4611
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater:
Media:
Christopher Zunner, 212-405-9028
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or
Amanda Householder, 212-405-9032
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