Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 Alvin Ailey

18 | ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER | MARCH 4-8, 2020 WHO’S WHO IN THE COMPANY keynote speaker and has addressed a number of high-profile organizations, including the United Nations Leaders Programme and the UNICEF Senior Leadership Development Programme. MATTHEW RUSHING ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Matthew Rushing was born in Los Angeles, CA. He began his dance training with Kashmir Blake in Inglewood, CA, and later continued his training at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He is the recipient of a Spotlight Award and a Dance Magazine Award and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He was a scholarship student at The Ailey School and later became a member of Ailey II. During his career, Mr. Rushing has performed as a guest artist for galas in Vail, CO, as well as in Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Russia. He has performed for Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, in addition to performing at the 2010 White House Dance Series. During his time with the Company, he has choreographed three ballets: Acceptance In Surrender (2005), a collaboration with Hope Boykin and Abdur-Rahim Jackson; Uptown (2009), a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance; and ODETTA (2014), a celebration of “the queen of American folk music.” In 2012, he created Moan , which was set on Philadanco and premiered at The Joyce Theater. Rushing joined the company in 1992, became rehearsal director in June 2010, and became associate artistic director in 2020. JUDITH JAMISON ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITA Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr. Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry . During the 1970s and 80s she appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, starred in the hit Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, and formed her own company, The Jamison Project. She returned to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1989 when Mr. Ailey asked her to succeed him as artistic director. In the 21 years that followed, she brought the Company to unprecedented heights — including two historic engagements in South Africa and a 50-city global tour to celebrate the Company’s 50 th anniversary. Ms. Jamison is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a Primetime Emmy Award, an American Choreography Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts, a Bessie Award, the Phoenix Award, and the Handel Medallion. She was also listed in “The TIME 100: The World’s Most Influential People” and honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the first White House Dance Series event. In 2015, she became the 50 th inductee into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance. In 2016, she received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. As a highly regarded choreographer, Ms. Jamison has created many celebrated works, including Divining (1984), Forgotten Time (1989), Hymn (1993), HERE... NOW. (commissioned for the 2002 Cultural Olympiad), Love Stories (with additional choreography by Robert Battle and Rennie Harris, 2004), and Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places, 2009 ) . Ms. Jamison’s autobiography, Dancing Spirit , was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and published in 1993. In 2004, under Ms. Jamison’s artistic directorship, her idea of a permanent home for the Company was realized and named after beloved chairman emerita Joan Weill. Ms. Jamison continues to dedicate herself to asserting the prominence of the arts in our culture and she remains committed to promoting the significance of the Ailey legacy — using dance as a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present, and fearlessly reaching into the future. BENNETT RINK EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Bennett Rink became executive director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation in 2013. Mr. Rink first joined Ailey as manager of special events in 1994, became development director in 1998, and then worked as senior director of development and external affairs from 2007 to 2012. In his tenure overseeing Ailey’s development, Mr. Rink led a $75 million capital campaign supporting Ailey’s first permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, which opened in 2005, and established an endowment to support major program areas. When the Company celebrated its 50 th anniversary in 2008, Mr. Rink supervised an 18-month celebration, including events, promotions, collaborations, and special performances, bringing public awareness of the Ailey organization to new heights. Mr. Rink also oversaw “The Next Step Campaign,” which grew the organization’s endowment to $50 million. As Executive Director, Mr. Rink launched a five-year strategic plan in 2014 to realize Robert Battle’s creative vision, expand Ailey’s educational offerings, and enhance technology to extend the reach of the organization. Central to the plan has been the expansion of The Joan Weill Center for Dance, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors each year. In the fall of 2017, Ailey unveiled the Center’s Elaine Wynn and Family Education Wing, providing much-needed additional studios and classroom space to meet the growing demand for Ailey’s programs. The building now comprises 87,000 square feet and is the largest destination for dance in New York City. Mr. Rink also conceived The Campaign for Ailey’s Future, a $50 million