The ABT Fall season is underway, which was cause for celebration among the city’s most stylish supporters of the arts. On Wednesday evening, the company presented a one-night-only program followed by a quintessentially New York night of dinner and dancing, all while honoring the contributions of ballerina assoluta, Natalia Makarova.
Early bird attendees dressed in ball gowns and black ties gathered for a pre-performance cocktail on the terrace of the David H. Koch Theater’s promenade—a perfect perch to watch all the glamorous arrivals. Once the bell rang, festivities continued downstairs, with the famed proscenium stage playing backdrop to a mélange of excerpts highlighting what to expect this season.
Artistic director Susan Jaffe introduced a special program that fused time-honored classics and energy-charged contemporary works alike. Those in attendance were spellbound by Children’s Songs Dance, a pas de deux performed by Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside, and an emotive excerpt from Sinatra Suite, performed against a set of glittering bronze lights by Cassandra Trenary and Herman Cornejo. (The voice of Frank Sinatra and ballet? It doesn’t get more ‘New York, New York’ than that!) The crowd also went wild for many of its favorite ABT stars who took to the stage over the course of the evening, including Calvin Royal III, SunMi Park, Hee Seo, Cory Stearns, Rose Adagio, Christine Shevchenko, Sklar Brandt, Devon Tuescher, Thomas Forster, Chloe Misseldine, Aran Bell, Gillian Murphy, Isaac Hernandez, Jake Roxander, Catherine Hurlin, and Daniel Camargo. And, as always, smiles lit up the room when some 150 young protégés in the making from ABT’s training programs had their moment in the spotlight.
During the performance, Jaffe and Barry Hughson, ABT’s executive director, turned their attention to Russian dancer and choreographer Natalia Makarova. A seminal (and ultra-stylish) figure in the ballet world, the 83-year-old is considered one of the greatest classical dancers in modern history. ABT also marked the 50th anniversary—and the enduring influence—of her renowned 1974 staging of The Kingdom of the Shades during the gala, with a performance led by Christine Shevchenko, Isaac Hernandez, and the female corps de ballet. Makarova, in attendance and still leading in the fashion stakes in a bohemian printed kaftan and matching headscarf, received a very warranted minute-long standing ovation from the audience.
Inspired, guests made their way upstairs to flit around the dancefloor and catch up over cocktails—does anyone really eat the dinner?! They’re too energized to stay still! Fans eagerly asked a Silvia Tcherassi-clad Candace Bushnell to pose for photos with them, while Coco Rocha and her young daughter Ioni Conran twirled about in equally chic black dresses. Sabine Getty had rooted out an incredible Gianni Versace-era early 2000s cut-out gown out for the occasion. Junior chairs Lizzie Asher (in embroidered and embellished Lanvin!) Casey Kohlberg (in shimmering Markarian sequins!) and Vogue’s own Lilah Ramzi (in ruffled vintage Vera Wang!) all notably aced the assignment too.
ABT’s Fall season continues until November 3. With much buzz about the upcoming world premiere of Crime and Punishment, in which Helen Pickett has reimagined Dostoevsky’s novel via a trifecta of contemporary ballet, electronic dance music, and industrial set design, as well as world premieres of works by Gemma Bond and Kyle Abraham, dance lovers had better jump to planning their own next fashionable night out asap.
