Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Sees Staffing Changes | Playbill

Classic Arts News Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Sees Staffing Changes The dance company finds a new associate artistic director and rehearsal director.

Masazumi Chaya, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s longtime associate artistic director, will retire January 5, 2020. Chaya has been in his current post since 1991. The company’s current rehearsal director, Matthew Rushing, will succeed him.

Ronni Favors will move up to rehearsal director and dancer Clifton Brown will be an additional assistant to the rehearsal director, alongside Linda Celeste Sims.

A special tribute program for Chaya, who began as a dancer with the company in 1972, will play December 22 during the company's City Center season. Rushing is also a veteran Ailey dancer and will continue the tradition and vision under Artistic Director Robert Battle, who has been at the helm since 2011.

“I’ve had a front-row seat to his love of Alvin Ailey, the man, and that sense that he told him to take care of his ballets and his company,” Battle told The New York Times of Chaya. “It’s in his being, so I can’t imagine he’ll ever be that far away.”
 

Explore Classic Arts:
Recommended Reading:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!