| EVENT REPORT 09.30.09 4:08 PM |
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More Photos From Joffrey Ballet's Couture and Cocktails
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At Friday night's Couture and Cocktails event for the Joffrey Ballet, chefs at the Palmer House Hilton were tasked with creating two distinct menus. For a pre-fashion-show V.I.P. reception that took place in the hotel's Lockwood restaurant, "we wanted sophisticated, formal, and elegant fare," said Julia Jankowski, the Joffrey's events coordinator. For the after-party, however, "we wanted to ease in the direction of fun food," Jankowski said. The result? More food stations than we could highlight in one report. Here are more photos from the event.
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| EVENT REPORT 09.30.09 2:00 PM |
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Joffrey Ballet's Couture and Cocktails Event Channels New York City With Runway, Giant Pickles
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On Friday evening, some 600 guests filed into the Palmer House Hilton for the Joffrey Ballet's Couture and Cocktails. Comprising a cocktail reception, a fashion show, and an after-party, this year's event showcased looks from Pamella Roland, who displayed her wares at New York Fashion Week earlier this month. Inspired by the designer's East Coast adventures, "we wanted to bring a little bit of New York to the Palmer House, and have everyone believe that they were sitting in a tent in Bryant Park," said Julia Jankowski, event coordinator at the Joffrey Ballet, who assisted women's board members Candace Jordan, Helen Hall Melchior, Ann Kaplan, Kristina McGrath, Leslie Hindman, Shauna Montgomery, Ann Waters, Sheryl Dyer, and Rebecca Besser with planning efforts.
Transforming the hotel's gilded lobby into a park setting left the planning team with their work cut out for them, and the challenge was heightened by the fact that they had less than three hours to complete the task. Friday's event marked the first time that the lobby area had been used for a runway presentation, and the hotel's management "wanted to be considerate of the guests that were staying at the Palmer House, so we couldn't shut the [area] down for too long," said Jankowski. "We were able to come in at 4 p.m. and we had to have everything done by about 6:45 p.m. That didn't leave us very long at all to set the runway, the chairs, the lighting, and do a sound check and a run-through with the models." Not to mention getting the giant trees in place along the lobby's periphery.
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| EVENT REPORT 09.02.09 8:00 AM |
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Akira Partners Up With Imerman Angels for Shakespeare-Themed Fashion Show With Hip-Hop Violin Music
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 | A Ford model at Akira and Imerman Angels' Garden of Eden fashion show
Photo: Ramiro Garcia |
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On Sunday night, local boutique chain Akira and Imerman Angels, a charity that provides one-on-one cancer support, teamed up to host the sixth annual Garden of Eden fashion show benefit. Held at Galleria Marchetti, the event, which had a "Tudor Rose" theme, showcased Akira's fall merchandise with a runway presentation and an on-site shopping area.
"When planning the annual benefit, we typically find inspiration in a more classic theme that revolves around a historical time period," said Maggie Morgan, Akira's vice president, who oversaw production with Imerman Angels events and PR director Laura Alexander. "We had yet to conquer a Shakespearean theme." During the hour-long fashion show, which took place in a tented area hung with chandeliers, models traipsed down the runway in clothing that incorporated "Shakespearean details," such as "ruffles, lace, exaggerated shoulders, waistcoats, and embellishment," Morgan said. At the entrance to the tent, ushers sported ruffled collars inspired by the bard.
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Akira, Imerman Angels, MTV, Marc Jacobs, Joffrey Ballet, Belvedere Vodka |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 07.07.09 3:39 PM |
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Chicago's Top Theater, Dance & Music Events 2009
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1. Steppenwolf Theatre Gala
Some 650 guests attended the 2009 gala for Chicago’s famed theater. The high-profile evening—which has drawn guests such as Mayor Richard Daley and company member John Malkovich—took place April 18 and included a performance of The Tempest. The gala raised roughly $1.3 million.
2. Lyric Opera’s Opening Night Gala Benefit and Opera Ball
In 2008, this event raised $500,000. Around 3,500 guests attended a performance of French opera Manon; afterward, 700 headed to the Hilton Chicago, where costumed brass musicians heralded each arrival and soprano Natalie Dessay joined guests on the dance floor. This year’s gala will take place September 26.
3. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Gala
Star soprano Renée Fleming will perform at the 2009 Chicago Symphony Orchestra gala on October 3, which is expected to raise more than $850,000. After the Symphony Center concert, dinner and dancing will take place at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. Event organizers expect 2,400 guests at the concert and 630 at the ensuing festivities.
4. Ravinia Festival Gala
In 2008, this gala drew 1,000 guests and raised $1.2 million for the oldest summer music festival in North America. The 2009 event will take place July 18. With a “Bicentennial Ball” theme, the evening will feature the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.”
5. Joffrey Ballet Spring Gala
The Joffrey Ballet’s 2009 spring gala on April 24 drew around 1,000 guests and raised $1.3 million. The event began at the Auditorium Theatre, where Joffrey dancers presented the premiere of Carousel (A Dance). Dinner and dancing at the Chicago Hilton followed.
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Chicago's Top 100 Events, Steppenwolf Theatre, Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, Joffrey Ballet, Goodman Theatre, Redmoon Theatre, About Face Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance, David Schwimmer, Lookingglass Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Chicago Opera Theatre |
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| EVENT REPORT 01.07.09 11:24 AM |
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Dirty Dancing Cast Members Help Celebrate Opening of Joffrey Ballet's New Academy
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 | The evening's dance performance
Photo: Herbert Migdoll |
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Julia Jankowski, events coordinator for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, spent two months planning Monday night’s event titled "Have the Time of Your Life: An Evening of Song and Dance With the Cast of Dirty Dancing." The event drew some 165 guests—including Chicago's first lady, Maggie Daley—and served as a relaxed grand-opening celebration for the Academy of Dance, Official School of the Joffrey Ballet.
The event’s centerpiece was a two-act performance that featured dancers from the ballet company and the Broadway in Chicago show, a collaboration which came about thanks to a longtime friendship between Kaitlin Hopkins (who plays Baby Houseman’s mother, Marjorie, in the touring company of Dirty Dancing) and Christopher Conway, executive director of the Joffrey Ballet. Further solidifying the link between the two organizations, several Dirty Dancing cast members are also former Joffrey dancers, including Britta Lazenga, who cohosted the evening’s performance.
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Joffrey Ballet, Broadway in Chicago, Maggie Daley |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 07.07.08 10:00 AM |
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Chicago's Top Theater, Dance & Music Events 2008
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 | The Fantasy of the Opera gala
Photo: Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago |
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1. Ravinia Festival Gala
In 2007 Placido Domingo and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra headlined the gala, which drew 1,260 attendees and raised $1.7 million for the Ravinia Festival and its school programs. Presented by the women’s board and held at the festival grounds, the event offers V.I.P. and general admission packages. V.I.P.s are invited to preconcert cocktails, receive priority seating at the show, and are invited to a postconcert dinner. This year’s event takes place July 19.
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Chicago's Top 100 Events, Ravinia Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Opera House, Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Hubbard Street Dance, Chicago Opera Theater, Redmoon Theater |
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