Bennett Rink became Executive Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation in January 2013. Prior to that time, Mr. Rink served the Ailey organization in a number of roles. He 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 and fundraising efforts, Mr. Rink led a $75 million capital campaign that supported the construction of 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 50th 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. In conjunction with the anniversary, 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 Artistic Director Robert Battle’s creative vision for the Company, expand the impact of Ailey’s educational offerings, and enhance technology to extend the reach of all aspects of the organization. A key element in the plan involves the enlargement of The Joan Weill Center for Dance. As the largest and most active destination for dance in New York City, the Center attracts more than 200,000 visitors annually. The planned expansion will create additional studios and classroom space to meet the growing demand for Ailey’s programs. Mr. Rink also conceived The Campaign for Ailey’s Future, a $50 million initiative to support the Center’s expansion and other long-range strategic priorities. To date, more than $44 million has been raised.
During Mr. Rink’s tenure as Executive Director, the Company has deepened its presence in New York City by establishing a spring season at Lincoln Center to complement its annual winter season at New York City Center, while also extending its role as America’s “Cultural Ambassador to the World” with tours to Africa, Europe and South America. In the fall of 2015, the Company unveiled its first-ever theatrical movie release as part of “Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance.”
Mr. Rink is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater.
Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation has been selected for the New York-based Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability effort – a new, six-year, $52-million initiative aimed at developing practical insights into how exemplary performing arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences, the foundation announced today.
The Board of Trustees of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation and Executive Director Bennett Rink today announced that more than $40 million has been raised to date to cap the tremendous legacy of retiring Chairman of the Board Joan H. Weill. The unprecedented gift, led by the generosity of Sanford I. Weill, inaugurates the Campaign for Ailey’s Future to support the expansion of Ailey’s building and the extension of Ailey’s artistic and educational initiatives.
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today announced that after an international search to identify a new Executive Director, the Board of Trustees has chosen to continue the Ailey tradition of passing on leadership from one generation of the organization to the next by naming Bennett Rink to the post.
When Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to town Tuesday night to perform at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, they’ll bring along their executive director, Bennett Rink. For the Ailey company, it’s the 10th stop on a 20-city tour, but for for Rink, it’s a journey home.
The path to becoming an actor can often lead to something else entirely. While Bennett Rink ended up in New York City, he didn’t find his career on the stage but behind it as executive director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, which performs at the Kentucky Center on Tuesday, March 15.
When Robert Battle, the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, addressed the audience on opening night at New York City Center, he brought a prop along with him: a seat belt. "Next year," he joked, "we're going to sell them in the gift shop."