Young Ballerinas Performed at the School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball
On arriving at the check-in tables at the School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball, guests were greeted with signs that read “Air kisses, elbow bumps, and curtsies tonight!” It was a reminder (though no one needed one) that New York City is on the brink of the unknown with the very real threat of coronavirus, and contact with others—even fellow balletomanes—was best avoided.
Despite the conditions, the ballet school (founded by the Russian-born father of American ballet George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein as the training school for the New York City Ballet company) lured a gussied-up crowd to Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theatre to fundraise. Those in the crowd included SAB alums like NYCB principal ballerina (and Valentino muse) Tiler Peck and Gilbert Bolden III, along with Indré Rockefeller (in a cheery yellow Carolina Herrera), Paul Arnhold, and more.
As the majority of the room was composed of former and current dancers, postures were impeccable throughout cocktail hour, which took place on the ground floor of the theatre. Everyone then moved up the stairs to the atrium, where the room was dressed as an orangerie. Tables were laid with clothes printed with twisting vines and topped with topiaries, and dotting the rooms were trees ripe with oranges. The springy transformation offered a dose of cheer that was upped as soon as the program began.
Actor Julianna Margulies took to the stage and explained her own personal history with the school. “SAB holds a very important place in my heart because my mother came here in 1945 when SAB was on Madison Avenue. She commuted every day, by herself, from Brooklyn,” she said, explaining how her mother, Francesca Gardner Margulies, had hoped and planned to be there but “given the state of the world” thought it best to stay home. In her mother’s stead, Margulies went on to name all the SAB instructors who had left a mark on the young dancer’s life before she joined the American Ballet Theatre. There was Beatrice Tompkins “who was was incredibly nurturing and kind;” Muriel Stuart, “who was lovingly strict;” and Madame Dubrovska, “who always came to class a bit late so she could make an entrance.”
Margulies continued, “When my mother was studying ballet at SAB, it was not uncommon for Balanchine to just walk into the class and take over. Jerome Robbins taught her all the time.”
It was a delightful trip down memory lane for most of the room, including Suki Schorer who had trained under Balanchine himself before dedicating her life to the SAB as an instructor at the school.
Margulies’s words were followed by remarks from the school’s artistic director Jonathan Stafford (who is also the artistic director for the New York City ballet) and SAB’s executive director Carrie W. Hinrichs. Both praised the school’s generous supporters over a dinner of artichoke salad and sea bass fillets. And just as dessert came out, things got sweeter as dancers aged about 15 and 16 came out to perform for the black-tie crowd. The piece was choreographed on them by Gilbert Bolden III, who explained he was inspired by the tango taught by Schorer to the school.
On the program, the dance was listed as the Piece d’Occasion, but so too was what followed—a congregation on the dance floor from galagoers and SAB students, who showcased their moves for the next hour or so. They all had reason to dance too; come the close of the night, the event had raised up to $1,030,000.
Photo: Erin Baiano1/8Gilbert Bolden III
Photo: Joe Carotta2/8Indré Rockefeller and Paul Arnhold
