The National Ballet of Canada went with a "White Hot" theme for its fourth annual fund-raiser at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. “We were going to stick with [last year's] 'Mad Hot' [theme] and work with it, but 'White Hot' gave us more of an open palette,” the ballet’s event manager, Jennifer Zimmerman, said of the shift. "We went for chic and simple and used decor with angular interest.”
As in past years, guests watched an hourlong performance of short works selected by artistic director Karen Kain. Principal dancer Chan Hon Goh, who plans to retire at the end of the season (after 20 years with the company), danced a special final performance. Goh performed with principal dancer Aleksandar Antonijevic in the company premiere of Peter Martins’s Valse Triste. The one-hour performance also included the Canadian premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Prokofiev Pas de Deux.
Following the performance, the 1,800 guests headed to the centre’s multilevel foyer for cocktails. Servers passed hors d’oeuvres from Whole Foods and martinis made with Grey Goose vodka, white cranberry juice, and honey syrup, and topped with blackberry skewers. Halfway through the cocktail reception, an unexpected performance erupted. Organizers called it “The Happening.” About 200 of the ballet’s DanceBreak members, between the ages of 16 and 29, showed off what they had learned from So You Think You Can Dance Canada choreographer Melissa Williams.
After the cocktails, 500 guests returned to the theatre for a three-course meal overseen by North 44 chef Mark McEwan. The meal began with warm goat cheese in pastry with asparagus. McEwan prepared roasted beef tenderloin with sweet pea risotto for the main course and a warm chocolate torte with hot toffee sauce for dessert.
Zimmerman called on Rob Dittmer of Three Event Planning & Design to design the event. Four guards wearing white bodysuits and bushy wigs stood atop large white cubes amid a cloud of dry ice at centre stage. White and silver linens topped tables surrounded by Louis Ghost chairs, and custom Plexiglas towers that held sparkling white mannequin heads inside served as centerpieces.
Event sponsors included CIBC, CTV, The Globe & Mail, Rolex Canada, and Dancers First.
