ABT Gala Looks Familiar—With a Watery Twist

The American Ballet Theatre’s spring gala is a big night for socialites in town, and the look tends to change little from year to year. This year, freelance event coordinator Jane Emerson worked with a team of recognizable vendors from years past to give the Tent at Lincoln Center an underwater twist on the old theme for the ballet’s 65th anniversary. Bill Tansey of Tansey Design Associates created the look, intending to evoke coral reefs, with orange table linens, red chairs, and massive six-foot-tall centerpieces of curly willow branches spray-painted red. At the base of each centerpiece, sparkly faux gems, cymbidium orchids, and seashells added to the fantastical, nautical theme. Bentley Meeker projected abstract patterns of orange lighting about the space, and coral-colored tissue spilled over the tops of Snap Sacks’ gift bags.
Posted 06.01.05