April 19, 2012
ABT's 2012 Spring Gala at Metropolitan Opera House, Monday May 14 at 6:30 P.M.
Sloan Lindemann Barnett, Nina Rennert Davidson, Julia Koch, Karin Luter and Monica G-S Wambold to Chair Annual Benefit
HONORARY CHAIRS TO INCLUDE MRS. MICHELLE OBAMA, CAROLINE KENNEDY AND BLAINE TRUMP
Gala Evening Sponsored by GRAFF and VALENTINO
Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo in Don Quixote.American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House opens Monday, May 14 with its annual Spring Gala benefit at 6:30pm. Sponsored by GRAFF and VALENTINO, the evening will feature ABT’s renowned Principal Dancers in preview performances from the eight-week season.
Mrs. Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chair, along with Caroline Kennedy and Blaine Trump. Sloan Lindemann Barnett, Nina Rennert Davidson, Julia Koch, Karin Luter and Monica G-S Wambold are Co-Chairs. Vice Chairs include Henri Barguirdjian, Wendy Kahn, Robin Chemers Neustein and Nancy McCormick Vella. Junior Co-Chairs of the evening are Sarah Arison and Josette Winograd.
A portion of the proceeds from the Spring Gala will support ABT’s education and community outreach programs.
American Ballet Theatre’s Spring Gala performance will open with two movements from Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions. Selections of classical pas de deux from the season’s full-length ballets will feature ABT’s renowned Principal Dancers, as well as Guest Artists including Alina Cojocaru, Polina Semionova, Vadim Muntagirov and Ivan Vasiliev. Principal Dancer Angel Corella, who will retire from ABT following the Spring season, will perform the pas de deux from Act I of Manon, opposite Ms. Cojocaru. A performance by students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT and the ABT Studio Company will round out the evening.
A Gala dinner under the Tent at Lincoln Center will immediately follow the performance. Gala benefit tickets priced at $1,500, $2,500, $3,500 and $5,000 include the performance and post-performance dinner. For Gala benefit ticket information only, call American Ballet Theatre’s Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3311.
Performance-only tickets, beginning at $25, are available online, at the Metropolitan Opera House box office or by calling 212-362-6000.