Text by Masha Lopatova, creative director at FashionIQ
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a spoiled brat when it comes to ballet. I was brought up in fluenced by the dancers and the choreography of Russian prima donnas. Bolshoi theater was 10 minutes away from my home, so I was blessed enough to watch all the superstars of the past 30 years. (By far nobody can beat Diana Vishneva who I absolutely adore!) So needless to say, it was with high expectations that I went to the NYC Ballet Gala on Tuesday, and I was not disappointed.
The Gala was celebrating the opening of the 2014 season, with a theme that any NYC woman could appreciate, “Fashion’s Back at The Ballet.” And the costumes were amazing, thanks to a major push from Sarah Jessica Parker, a co-chair of the event. I think it was a good move on her part, to make ballet more exciting, and they were able to get fabulous designers to outfit the 5 separate performances of the evening. The 5 were Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton, Carolina Herrera, Thom Browne, Valentino Garavani, and Mary Katranzou.
The night was also coming right before the retirement of NYC Ballet’s senior ballerina, Wendy Whelan, and, at age 47, she was pretty impressive. While I thought the first piece, called Morgen, was a little too long and kind of boring, the other 4 were really fun. They were shorter, more interesting, more diverse, and had more contemporary choreography. I especially liked the piece with designs by Sarah Burton, the dancing and the costumes had so much drama.
Overall, it was a very high quality performance and event, including the activities before and after the ballet. Yes, going to the event was expensive, but totally worth it. The Gala benefits the ballet, helps maintain the theater, pays for the dancers, and helps keep ticket prices reasonable so that more people can go to the ballet year-round. So, buying a ticket is a really good deed, and you get to see the best performance, be around celebrities, be around designers, and eat a delicious dinner- in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.
We of course saw SJP, but also Wendy Murdoch, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Cindy Chao, just to name a few. My husband even met one of the composers, Judd Greenstein, who had written the music for one of the pieces. As long as you don’t mind the price, going to the event is actually very easy, refreshing, and enjoyable. If you are in New York next fall, it is a must!
