Ballerinas Danced to Tony Bennett at Last Night’s Fall Gala for the American Ballet Theatre

New Yorkers can handle poor weather, but last night’s rain felt particularly inconvenient. The sun seemed to vanish before it ought to, and puddles formed near the curbs of Manhattan streets, requiring the guests at last night’s gala for the American Ballet Theatre to leap out of their taxis like clumsy ballerinas to avoid splashing their black-tie ensembles. Ball-gown weather it was not.

No matter; Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater proved the most resplendent of shelters for guests like Katie Holmes, Caroline Kennedy, Olivia Palermo, and more.

The evening started the way any night at Lincoln Center should—with Champagne. During the cocktail hour, guests could feast their eyes on the red carpet to see the likes of Indre Rockefeller, Sarah Hoover (both in punchy pink Carolina Herrera gowns), Ariana Rockefeller (in a floral Bibhu Mohapatra), dancer Tiler Peck (in Valentino, per usual), Jordan Roth (statuesque in Thom Browne), and Victor Cruz and Karrueche Tran (who dazzled in emerald green). They could also witness famed photographer Mark Seliger helm a makeshift photo studio in the middle of the ground floor, organized by LG Signature. Before the curtain fell, Seliger, who has a long history of capturing ballet dancers, plucked notable patrons and dancers from the crowd for a quick photo shoot.

The results are photos that belie the quick speed in which the imagery came together—all the group shots are composites, as every person was photographed individually. In one black-and-white image, Misty Copeland swans on a stool near Tony Bennett. In another the principal dancers of the company gather for a portrait in which everyone seems the star. The photos are unsurprisingly first-rate, but Seliger admits that this was mostly due to the dancers, who know better than anyone how to maneuver themselves to please the eye. “Dancers are very easy to photograph, they know how to pose—the problem is actually getting them off the background!” he joked.

Soon everyone was in their seats for the start of the program. First up was Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations,” a piece created by the Russian-born father of American ballet for ABT especially in 1947. Set to a score by Tchaikovsky, it’s a dance that’s known as one of Balanchine’s more grueling works, as it requires dancers to call upon their full range of capabilities. Next up were two world premieres by two female choreographers, Jessica Lang and Twyla Tharp. The former, titled “Let Me Sing Forevermore,” evoked a dance sequence from a Hollywood musical set to “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” by Tony Bennett. The latter, “A Gathering of Ghosts,” featured costumes by Norma Kamali (also in attendance); dancers weaved on and off stage in pas de deux vignettes, and at the center of it all was Herman Cornejo, who danced with the gusto of a bullfighter.

The evening carried on with a gala dinner, the tables adorned with extra-long plumes of bright red feathers. Guests chatted over beet salad and roast chicken suppers, while dancers—fresh from the stage—refueled. It never ceases to surprise how quick the ballerinas are to the dance floor after an evening of performing.

By the night’s end, the rain had diminished to a drizzle, and guests made their merry way home. Some, having plucked them from their tables, left with a feather in hand—perhaps a shield for the rain?