| EVENT REPORT 04.30.08 4:02 PM |
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| A Storybook Ending |
| The Washington Ballet created a royal palace setting for its Cinderalla-themed spring gala. |
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Inspired by the Washington Ballet’s upcoming performance of Cinderella, the organization’s spring gala transformed the classical Mellon Auditorium into a pink-hued palace on Friday. Six fanfare-playing trumpeters and two eight-year-old footmen sprinkled rose petals on the pink carpet as the 500 guests arrived at the venue, only to be greeted inside by more footmen in white powdered wigs and period costumes (who were also on hand to offer drinks).
Produced by the ballet's special events manager, Mary Alice Nay, the event combined predinner cocktails in the venue’s Green Rooms with dinner in the ornate auditorium and then—appropriately—dancing for all. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Guests entered on a pink carpet, flanked by trumpeters and two eight-year-old boys dressed as footmen.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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 | Wig-wearing musicians in period costumes serenaded the Green Rooms before dinner.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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 | Roses wrapped the bases of the five-foot-tall floral arrangements, which featured sweet pea, cherry blossoms, and hydrangeas.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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 | The dining room featured tutu seat covers and shimmery white tablecloths embellished with pink, yellow, and blue ribbon.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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 | Rectangle and circular tables made way for a dance floor in the venue's auditorium.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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 | For dessert, a tiny milk-chocolate mouse pulled Cinderella's royal carriage, made of dark chocolate and white chocolate.
Photo: J.C. Martins/Fotobriceno for BizBash |
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While the evening’s theme was omnipresent, so too was its purpose: raising money for the ballet. Costumed students presented tableaux of poses from the Cinderella during the cocktail reception, while two ballet dancers performed as Cinderella and Prince Charming shortly before the main course.
A rose-pink and gold palette decorated the dining room, with a mix of low and high arrangements (some as tall as five feet) of roses, hydrangeas, sweet pea, orchids, and cherry blossoms. Nay added a shimmery, ribbon-embellished tablecloth to the pink-, yellow-, and blue-topped tables, a design that debuted at the Corcoran Ball earlier this month.
The decor was detail-driven, evident in handmade calligraphy table assignments, menus, and place cards, with embellished stars on the menus that matched the twinkling version projected onto the ceiling. Crystal jars holding Marie Antoinette-worthy pastel petits fours sat on the tabletops among the rose bouquets, crystal glasses, and candles.
After dinner, attendees danced to music from Sound Connection and picked up gift bags filled with Tivoli soap from Saks Fifth Avenue, specialty chocolates, and a voucher for two tickets to the Washington Ballet’s upcoming Rocketman. As guests left the ball (scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight), they discovered a giant foam pumpkin outside the venue—one last detail to end the night’s storybook theme.
—Adele Chapin
RELATED TOPICS
Washington Ballet, Cinderella
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