Robert Battle as New Artistic Director of Ailey

Judith Jamison today announced that her mantle as Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will pass to Robert Battle, a fast-rising choreographer who has created ballets for the Ailey company and Ailey II since 1999 and has served as an artistin- residence with The Ailey School. Mr. Battle, 37, will be the third person to head the company since its founding by Alvin Ailey in 1958. He will serve side-by-side with Ms. Jamison as Artistic Director Designate from now until July 1, 2011, when she takes Emerita status and he assumes his full responsibilities.

Judith Jamison stated, "We are enormously fortunate in being able to secure the leadership of Robert Battle. Combining an intimate knowledge of the Ailey company with an independent perspective, he is without question the creative force of the future."

Joan H. Weill, Chairman of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, commented, "Robert's decade-long relationship with Ailey has given me confidence that he is a great choice to lead the company at this moment. It is exciting to know that his fresh point of view and powerful new ideas will now become part of the ever-enduring, ever-evolving legacy of Alvin Ailey, carrying our spirit forward in the years ahead."

Bruce Gordon, chairman of the Succession Planning Committee for the Board of Trustees, commented, "We feel certain that our audiences throughout the United States and around the world will embrace the evolution of the Ailey company under Robert Battle's direction. They will know their profound emotional bond with this company is being not just honored but renewed."

According to Executive Director Sharon Gersten Luckman, "Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison built a world-renowned institution around a singular artistic vision. Under Robert Battle's artistic leadership, we can be sure that the vision will remain strong and true. I look forward to working with him to keep this institution flourishing for years to come."

Accepting his appointment as Artistic Director Designate, Robert Battle stated, "I don't know whether to call this the proudest moment of my life or the most humbling. With the help of Judith Jamison and the great, great dancers in this company, I hope to be worthy of this tremendous responsibility that I've been given, and to honor it in the only way Alvin Ailey would have accepted: by keeping it new, alive and moving forward."

"In seeking a new artistic leader for the company, it was important to find someone who has his own vision, his own experience," Judith Jamison explained. "Robert has his own company and is a maverick in his choreography. He's edgy and forwardthinking, very talented and savvy-a lovely, intelligent person who in many ways reminds me of Alvin. He also has a worldview and is capable of taking this company in new directions, while at the same time understanding our traditions. Choosing Robert Battle is the giant leap I want to take to ensure that this company stays vibrant in the future."

The Outrageous Rubenstein
New Book Chronicles Lawyer’s Fight for Justicer

By Walter Greene

Sanford Rubenstein’s fight for justice and social change began some 37 years-ago.

This Brooklyn attorney has been at the forefront of the struggle and has penned a powerful book that expose his methods and motivation for his work. The book: `The Outrageous Rubenstein - How A Media- Savvy Trial Lawyer Fights For Justice and Change’ tells the story of this leader in the movement for equality and fairness, especially dealing with the harsh reality of the tainted justice system.

ADVOCATE FOR VICTIM’S RIGHTS

Noted as one of the nation’s top 25 trial lawyers by the Melvin M. Belli Society of the American Trial Lawyers Association, Sanford Rubenstein is the senior partner at the Brooklyn law firm of Rubenstein & Rynecki, one of New York’s most sought after advocates for victim’s rights in personal injury and civil rights cases. In five chapters Rubenstein chronicles some of his most popular cases as he goes beyond the call of duty to help victims and in most cases change legislation in terms of police brutality and victims rights. His association with good friend Rev. Al Sharpton (who wrote the forward for the book) reveals many surprises. His down to earth demeanor and smart decisions are chronicled in this `Must read’.

MISTREATMENT IN A BROKEN JUSTI CE SYSTEM

Rubenstein noted that the events described in his book represent important victories in the struggle for justice and social change, he writes: ...."But this fight will continue as long as our society allows the least powerful among us to be abused and neglected by those in positions of power. In the course of writing this book, I was asked to represent victims in a number of new high-profile cases that illustrate just how vulnerable the average American is to various types of mistreatment, and how the justice system can serve as an important tool for fixing what’s broken.

Together, these cases shine a spotlight on important areas in our nation’s fabric that are still badly in need of repair."

NEAR DEATH IN THE SUDAN

`The Outrageous Rubenstein’ is the story of a great humanitarian who really cares. Yes, Rubenstein is an accomplished attorney but his humanitarian efforts are laced throughout this book, his caring and fight for civil rights go beyond the courthouse. As he says; "My hope and goal is to use the power of our justice system to help create a safer and more equitable society for everyone." He writes about being held up at gunpoint in his former Brooklyn storefront office.

He’s been a victim and knows how it feels. He is a `grassroots’ gentleman who traveled to the Sudan, witnessing first hand the modern day slavery happening in that slice of our world. He describes a near death experience when the campsite that he slept along with Rev Al Sharpton was bombed shortly after their group left the area.

I’M WITH YOU REV.

Rubenstein describes the drama surrounding the highly visible Abner Louima case and his work with the late super attorney Johnnie Cochran, whom he described as; "an absolutely brilliant legal tactician...a superb advocate and brilliant strategist." During a police brutality protest march from Brooklyn, he writes how a peaceful march could have turned real sour, but thanks to Rev. Al’s quick thinking, participants got back on track quickly as armed police came ready to start a war. While Al Sharpton was in jail for the Vieques situation, Rubenstein was with him every day during his 90 day stay. He documented some of the Reverend’s high profiled visitors including Senator Hillary Clinton, David Dinkins, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Fernando Ferrer, Chuck Schumer, Charles Rangel and Kweisi Mfume.

THE MISSING BODY

Another high-profile case that had this outstanding lawyer all `caught up,’ was the case of Ousmane Zongo, an African immigrant who was brutally shot at his West side storage facility by a plain clothes cop, assigned to guard an illegal CD collection. "I was once again on the front lines of the civil rights movement against excessive use of force by police," wrote Rubenstein who accompanied the dead body to his village in Burkina Faso, mainly to deliver the body to a grieving wife and family. Starting with drama during the funeral ceremonies in a Harlem Mosque, to a solemn ceremony in a graveyard outside Ouagadougou, Rubenstein tells a story that the press never told. He chronicles the complete journey, from why the funeral was stalled in Harlem to the twenty-four hour flight to Paris - a ten hour layover in Paris, then a six and a half hour flight to Burkina Faso, only to discover that the body was missing. Imagine the horror, as he described what he felt having promised to deliver Zongo’s body to the family half-way around the world.

Jamaica’s Calabash
International Literary Festival

Poets and literary enthusiasts recently gathered at the Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY for the special release of the anthology ‘So Much Things to Say’. The anthology, which celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Calabash International Literary Festival, is a collection of works by 100 poets who have performed at the festival over the years.

So Much Things to Say was edited by Jamaican novelist Colin Channer (left) and award-winning poet and playwright Dr. Kwame Dawes (third from right), and published by Akashic Books in New York.

‘So Much Things to Say’ features works from Li Young Lee, Derek Walcott, Elizabeth Alexander, Martin Espada, Michael Ondaatje and a host of other distinguished poets. Calabash Festival producer, Justine Henzell (center) is joined by (from the left) Colin Channer; Aracelis Girmay; Linda Susan Jackson; Paul Holdengraber, Director of Public Programs, New York Public Library and preface contributor; Dr. Kwame Dawes; Cheryl Boyce Taylor and Everton Sylvester.

The Calabash International Literary Festival is a three-day event, free and open to the public, which will take place over Memorial Day weekend, May 28 – 30, 2010 at Jake’s, in Treasure Beach, on Jamaica’s South Coast.