Bennett Rink

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Names Francesca Harper As Artistic Director Of The Ailey II Company

New York – September 1, 2021 – Robert Battle, Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, announced today that internationally renowned performer, choreographer, director, and multi-disciplinary artist Francesca Harper has been appointed Artistic Director of Ailey II, the Ailey organization’s acclaimed company of young dancers. Ms. Harper will assume her duties on September 7, 2021, and will immediately begin preparing for Ailey II’s return to the stage. Ailey II’s 2021-2022 season will kick off in December with participation in Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual season at New York City Center, in which Ailey II will perform in Mr. Ailey’s classic Memoria, and will continue with the company’s own 2022 New York City season March 23-April 3 at The Ailey Citigroup Theater, as well as a U.S. tour.

$20 Million Gift From Mackenzie Scott To Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater To Fund The Company's Transformative "Dancing Forward" Initiatives

NEW YORK, NY — June 22, 2021 — Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater today gratefully acknowledged an exceptional gift of $20 million from MacKenzie Scott—one of 286 donations the philanthropist and author made last week to non-profit organizations across the United States—and announced that the company will use the funds to support its “Dancing Forward” initiatives.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Opens Its New Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing At The Joan Weill Center For Dance

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Opens Its New Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing At The Joan Weill Center For Dance

NEW YORK, NY, October 19, 2017 — At a festive ribbon-cutting, celebrated on the evening of October 18, leaders of the Ailey organization joined with dancers, students, donors, and friends from New York City’s dance community to open The Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing, a 10,000-square-foot expansion of Ailey’s permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Begins Expansion Of The Joan Weill Center For Dance And Names New Education Wing In Honor Of Philanthropist Elaine Wynn

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Begins Expansion Of The Joan Weill Center For Dance And Names New Education Wing In Honor Of Philanthropist Elaine Wynn

Leaders of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today celebrated the expansion of Ailey’s permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, with a ceremonial roof-breaking to mark the company’s upward growth. The event featured an unveiling of the design for the expanded building and performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacqueline Green, Ailey II and students from The Ailey School.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Announces Over $40 Million Raised In Unprecedented Honoring Of Board Chair Joan Weill To Cap Her Two Decades Of Transformative Leadership

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.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Names Bennett Rink As New Executive Director

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.