Armani Stages Chic Circus for Guggenheim Ball

An eclectic array of performance art gave the museum a lively, Cirque Du Soleil vibe.

December 18, 2006

Mimes, dancers, and elaborately costumed stiltwalkers transformed the Guggenheim Museum’s rotunda into a high-style European circus for this year’s Young Collectors Council Artist’s Ball. Sponsored by Giorgio Armani and produced by One Kick LLC, the event honored Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist and drew more than 600 guests, including Mary J. Blige, Kim Catrall, and Ivanka Trump. “The entire evening was inspired by Armani’s interpretation of Rist’s work, which is full of dynamic, jewel-toned colors and bold images,” said Shauna Brook, Armani’s vice president of marketing and special events. “And because the event honors young collectors and is a celebration of all forms of art, we used a wide variety of performance artists to add life and energy to the room.”The evening’s performances lasted well through the night and included stiltwalkers in costumes resembling skeletal grasshoppers and mime work by London-based artist Ryan Styles. Dancers from Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performed a modern dance routine, leaping, twirling, and sliding along the first floor of the museum’s spiral atrium. Overhead, Pink Inc. had attached a scrim around the atrium’s second floor that spiraled upward, creating a stylish ceiling that mimicked the look of a traditional big top. Staffers from One Kick arranged modern black lounge furniture in several groupings throughout the rotunda so guests would have a place to gather and nosh on passed hors d’oeuvres from Acquolina Catering. Cubes topped with stretched vinyl and plexiglass served as a place to park drinks and as a creative lighting source. Lights placed inside of the cubes lit them from within so the colorful, translucent tabletops cast a tie-dyed glow throughout the room, also a nod to Rist’s work.

—Lisa Cericola

Photos: Marina Senra for BiZBash (dancers, stiltwalker, bubble, two dancers, mime)

Posted 12.18.06

At the end of the night, two whimsically dressed dancers from Alice Farley Dance Theater donned stilts and danced and weaved through the masses.

Vibrant pillows and glowing cube tables provided a shot of color in the decor’s otherwise simple, all-black look.

Lighting company JKLD lit the overhead scrim with colorful abstract projections inspired by Rist’s video creations.

Stilt walkers in insect-like costumes paraded through the atrium, interacting with guests.

Burlesque artist Julie Atlas Muz performed a dramatic dance with a large balloon. She entered it, then burst free in the end.

Performances by the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet started on the first floor of the museum, then moved onto smaller stages on the ground floor and eventually into the crowd.