Articles by: R. I.

  • Events: Reports

    Riccardo Battaglia to Dance With Ailey II



    Following an over thirty city world tour, Ailey II, the youthful and gifted second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, returns to its home, the Ailey Citigroup Theater, from April 2 – 13, for a highly anticipated 40th anniversary season – the second led by Artistic Director Troy Powell.
     
    Riccardo Battaglia, a native of Pescara, was chosen by the Italian Youth Ministry in 2010 to represent dance as part of the country’s “TNT Festival.”  He was among 200 other talented youth from the country selected based on his outstanding dance performances in tap dance and other contemporary genres.  Battaglia won prestigious dance competitions in Florence and Rome before graduating high school with honors and moving to New York. Battaglia teaches at his childhood dance studio, Scuola D’Arte New Step in Italy, and still has strong ties there.
     

    In the upcoming 2014 New York season, Battaglia will perform in the premieres of Wings,by Jennifer Archibald, Alchemies by Adam Barruch, and in Cuore Sott’Olio by Katarzyna Skarpetowska. For the Returning Favorites program, he will dance in Alvin Ailey’s Streams, Amy Hall Garner’s Virtues, and Rusty by Paris-born choreographer and former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Benoit-Swan Pouffe.



    Riccardo Battaglia began dancing at the age of eight at Scuola D’Arte New Step in his hometown.  He is a three-time winner of the “Expressions” competition held in Florence as part of the Danzainfiera event and also won the Tip Tap Show competition in Rome. Battaglia trained at The Ailey School as a scholarship student, where he performed in the 2011 and 2012 Ailey at The Apollo galas. He has worked with renown choreographers including Earl Mosley, Hope Boykin, Thang Dao, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Nathan Trice, and Jennifer Archibald. He was also a member of Elisa Monte Dance. This is his first year with Ailey II.

  • Events: Reports

    Captains of Industry to be Honored at NIAF New York Gala


     The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) will hold its annual New York Gala on April 3, 2014, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. The evening’s honorees include Joseph Brancato, managing principal at the global design firm Gensler; Carmine Di Sibio, global managing partner—Client Services at EY; Mary Ann Esposito, renowned chef and television personality; and Lt. Gen. USMC (ret.) Frank Libutti, chief executive officer and president of PS&S Global LLC, the environmental remediation and alternative and renewable energy firm. The NIAF gala begins with a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by an awards program and dinner.


    During the gala, before 500 guests, the Foundation will honor Brancato with the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Real Estate and Design, and Di Sibio with its Special Achievement Award in Financial Services. NIAF’s Special Achievement Award in Culinary Arts will be awarded to Esposito and its Special Achievement Award in Military Service will be awarded to Libutti.


    Special to the evening, the chair from the Classics Department of the University of Maryland, along with NIAF’s Co-Chair of the Education and Scholarship Committee Anita Bevacqua McBride, will be present when the Foundation introduces the NIAF Ernest L. Pellegri Grant for $500,000 that was recently awarded to the University. Their project, “Between Washington and Ancient Rome: The NIAF Pellegri Program on Roman Antiquity and Its Legacy in America,” will support the study of Latin, ancient Roman archeology, and ancient Roman civilization; and offer opportunities for students to study abroad, conduct research, and pursue fellowships in the United States and Italy.


    As Managing Principal for the Northeast and Latin America regions, Brancato directs Gensler’s offices in Boston, Morristown, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, San Jose, Costa Rica, Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil. During his 29-year career at Gensler, Brancato has worked closely with his partners and clients to position Gensler as one of the top architecture and design firms in the world. He has shaped Gensler’s internal gConnect program, which focuses on the professional development of their young leaders. Brancato currently serves on the Board of the Avenue of the Americas Association and the Finance Committee for the American Institute of Architect’s New York Chapter. He co-chairs the Special Events Committee of the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, serves as the Event Co - Chair for the St. Francis Food Pantries, and co-chairs the Nostra Storia Fundraiser for FIAO, (The Federation of Italian-Americans Organizations).


    During his 26-year career, Di Sibio, has served as an advisory and assurance partner for EY’s largest clients in the financial services industry, including Goldman Sachs; Bank of America; State Street; Lehman Brothers; Bank of New York; UBS and KeyCorp. Di Sibio is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University and a Masters of Business Administration in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He serves on the boards of several education and family-based not-for-profit organizations, including Prep for Prep, Foundation for Educating Children with Autism, and Family Promise.

    Esposito is the creator and host of “Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito”™, which is celebrating its milestone 25th season on PBS, making it the longest running television cooking series. Esposito has shared regional Italian cooking with audiences around the world through her show. Last year, she received the Order of the Star of Italy Cavaliere award from the president of the Italian Republic and the Premio Artusi award for her work in promoting Italian food. She is the author of 12 cookbooks; “Ciao Italia Family Classics” is her latest. When not in front of the camera or writing books, she shares her love for authentic and traditional Italian food on www.ciaoitalia.com and www.facebook.com/maryannesposito.


    Prior to joining PS&S Global, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Libutti served for 35 years in the United States Marine Corps and retired as Lt. General. In 2002, he led the New York City Police Department’s Counter Terrorism Bureau as deputy police commissioner. Libutti oversaw the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence operations as undersecretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, a position then President George W. Bush nominated him for in 2003. His career includes many managerial positions focusing on domestic and strategic security challenges and is now centered on engineering and technology.


    The mistress of ceremonies for the evening will be CBS News Correspondent Alexis Christoforous.


    The event is chaired by Gerard S. LaRocca, NIAF Board Member and chief administrative officer, Americas, Barclays Capital.


    The gala also includes musical performance by Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses, an eight-piece brass-infused swing band.

    Proceeds from NIAF’s New York Gala will benefit the Foundation’s philanthropic and educational programs. Tickets begin at $750 (member); $1,000 (non-member). Attire: Cocktail. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, visit: www.niaf.org/nyc or contact Jerry Jones at 202-939-3102 or [email protected].


    The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Americans of Italian descent. Visit www.niaf.org.




    Cipriani 42nd Street

    110 East 42nd Street

    (Between Lexington & Park Avenues)

    New York, New York 10017

    April 3, 2014


    Reception at 6:30 PM

    Dinner at 7:30 PM



    Attire: Cocktail

    CLICK HERE to register online today!

    CLICK HERE to download our sponsorship form (pdf format)


    Mistress of Ceremonies:


    Alexis Christoforous
    View Bio

    Distinguished Honorees:



    Carmine Di Sibio

    Ernst & Young, LLP
    View Bio

    Mary Ann Esposito

    Renowned Chef and TV Personality
    View Bio
     

    Joseph Brancato

    Gensler
    View Bio

    Frank Libutti

    PS&S
    View Bio


    Rock the evening away with...


    Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses
    CLICK HERE for bio


    Michael Barimo
    CLICK HERE for bio

  • How Italian are You? Let Your Voice be Heard in a New Research Project


    Dr. Rosemary Serra, a leading research sociologist from the University of Trieste in Italy, has come to New York as a visiting research scholar at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College, City University of New York, to investigate the status of Italian American identity within the greater New York area.

     
    The tool used to gather the data is a self-administered questionnaire, designed by Dr. Serra who hope to receive responses from hundreds of young Italian Americans falling within the age ranges 18-34. Serra asks the important questions that have been avoided, ignored, or forgotten as Italian Americans quickly assimilated into American culture. Yet, as she says, they have managed to maintain a unique identity. Determining just what that is will be the focus of her research. 
     
     “Gathering and interpreting this information,” she says, “ is crucial for the future of the Italian American community. I want to see what changes have occurred in the ways people identify with their Italian background and heritages.”
     
    Indeed, never has such an ambitious project been launched, especially by an Italian scholar, who has independently funded her work. Dr. Serra has also sought and received some support from within the Italian American community, and she is continually looking for the funds to help elaborate her project. “I’d like to take this project to other major cities to obtain comparative data, but that would require thousands of dollars. For now I will start with the New York area and see if we can create a model for the rest of the country from my work here.”
     
    Through the understanding of factors that influence Italian American identity and the ways in which they affect individuals’ daily lives, the sociologist plans to analyze her subjects’ self-representations and self-perceptions of representations suggested by others of the Italian American community. She also hopes to determine the meaning that Italian heritage has in the daily lives of the younger generations and how it affects their values, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and images of Italy and Italians.
     
    Dr. Serra plans to produce a clear picture that will help clarify, define and better understand how to maintain and develop the feeling of belonging to the Italian American culture, how to improve the interaction between Italy and Italian Americans based on knowledge rather than on stereotypes and, lastly, how to provide culturally relevant services that can better reach and meet the requirements and needs of the younger generations.
     
    Dr. Serra will be providing questionnaires beginning now and through September. Volunteering for this research is a way to express your connection to your culture and offer suggestions about what needs to be done for the future of Italian American identity. Upon completion of her analyses, Dr. Serra will publish the results of her work in articles and eventually in book form.
     
    Interested volunteers can contribute to this ground-breaking and relevant research project through your voluntary participation. Please contact Dr. Rosemary Serra, by email [email protected] or by telephone (212) 951-0704.
     
    Upon receipt of your email or call, Dr. Serra will provide you with a survey questionnaire that can be completed online or in person in a location of your choice.