You can count New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, and Michael Bloomberg among the attendees of Thursday night’s New York City Ballet Spring Gala, which celebrated the season’s opening. All three are undoubtedly fans of the ballet, but their presence had much to do with the fact that Diana Taylor (longtime partner of Bloomberg) was the chair for the glamorous evening.
It was a night that celebrated composer Igor Stravinsky’s seminal contributions to the ballet company—and thoroughly enjoying the evening’s program meant knowing a bit about the history of the productions. There was Jerome Robbins’ Circus Polka (a delightful little piece performed by the youthful members of the School of American Ballet), George Balanchine’s Scherzo à la Russe (also by the students), and Balanchine’s Violin Concerto (a masterpiece containing two of the choreographer’s most memorable pas de deux—this time, with dancers Unity Phelan and Amar Ramasar and Ashley Laracey and Joseph Gordon). Plus, there was a world premiere from former NYCB dancer Silas Farley set to music composed by David K. Israel.
“50 years ago, the original Stravinsky festival changed the face of New York City Ballet and, dare I say, the art form of ballet forever,” said Wendy Whelan, associate artistic director of the company, to the audience, dressed in black tie and seated within the resplendent David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Whelan explained how the duo’s friendship, two Russian emigrés in New York, resulted in some of the most meaningful collaborations in ballet, including works such as Apollo and Agon. She continued: “On the first anniversary of Stravinsky’s death in 1972, Balanchine mounted a festival to celebrate his departed friend on a scale never before seen at New York City Ballet: 30 ballets in seven days.” Three of these ballets would be performed that night, and the new work, entitled Architects of Time, was inspired by an acoustic poem Balanchine composed for Stravinsky for his 64th birthday.
As the ballets unfurled onstage, audible “awes” were heard as the young students stepped out in their tutus and loud ovations came when Farley appeared on stage following the debut of his impressive production featuring eight variations and 16 dancers. The entire program was an education in the art form, and isn’t that the best kind of night at the ballet?
Following the performances, gala-goers found their way to the second-floor mezzanine of the theatre, which was transformed by an artistic intervention by Eva LeWitt. (Each spring, NYCB invites an artist to take over the theatre. After LeWitt’s colorful stage design for Justin Peck’s Partita, she was invited to participate in 2022’s Promenade of the Theater for Art Series.) LeWitt’s silk taffeta banners infused the space with rich ruby, clementine, and violet hues—colors that were picked up in the floral arrangements on all the tables throughout the dinner.
Among the guests of the fundraising gala dinner were Lili Buffett, Debra Martin Chase, Fe Fendi, Jill Kargman, Tonya Lewis Lee, Eva Lewitt, Flaviana Matata, Rosie Perez, and Zac Posen. All were delighted to hear back-to-back remarks from Mayor Adams and Senator Schumer. The latter was involved in the Save Our Stages Act, providing much-needed support to New Yorks’s performing arts venues.
“I’m proud to say the New York City Ballet got 10 million. The maximum award and Lincoln Center got 10 million,” Schumer said to the crowd. “And here we are not only standing in a beautiful theater but witnessing the best and highest expression of artistry that any stage anywhere in the world has to offer. So let us be thankful for that.”
Among the speeches, the president of the NYCB board of directors Jeff Peek announced the amount raised at this year’s gala: $2.6 million. Cheers to that.
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