Whether on stilts or suspended from the ceiling, the troupe of flexible performers who took over Santa Monica Airport’s Hangar 8 for accounting firm Grant Thornton’s post-holiday party added an air of awe and wonder to the company’s celebration. (The event was postponed until January due to a heavy December workload.) Contortionists and stiltwalkers flanked close to 500 employees from the company’s Southern California offices as they made their way through a tented walkway toward the hangar, where a yellow gobo reading “Welcome to le Cirque de Grant Thornton” decorated the center of the back wall.Working with an in-house committee, Grant Thornton’s Crystal Cochrum called on Andrea Wyn Schall to help create the lively sense of movement associated with circuses. Schall incorporated special acts such as an in-line skater who managed 30 hula hoops at once, and a pair of aerialists who struck intricate poses in midair. Guests checked out performances before, during, and after a buffet-style dinner, which ditched the traditional popcorn and cotton-candy fare in favor of spice-rubbed New York steak and roasted king salmon entrees. Brightly colored table centerpieces, accented with feathers and streamers, kept with the circus theme.
Guests also found a boxed Godiva chocolate treat and a Cirque du Soleil keychain on tabletops, and—in a move more reminiscent of a high school dance than the greatest show on earth—could have complimentary portraits taken with their dates.
—Rosalba Curiel
Posted 01.23.07
Photos: James Sequenzia
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Guests also found a boxed Godiva chocolate treat and a Cirque du Soleil keychain on tabletops, and—in a move more reminiscent of a high school dance than the greatest show on earth—could have complimentary portraits taken with their dates.
—Rosalba Curiel
Posted 01.23.07
Photos: James Sequenzia
Related Stories
Santa Monica Hangar Goes Wild for Eco Dinner
Vegas Cirque Premiere Goes All Night
A pair of aerialists entertained dining guests at Grant Thornton’s belated holiday party at Hangar 8.
Fiberglass chandeliers with LED lights and multicolored projections of circles, squares, and triangles complemented the performers’ colorful costumes.
Feathers and corkscrew streamers accented centerpieces of brightly colored tulips, roses, hydrangeas, and calla lilies.
A contortionist demonstrated his flexibility for guests as they entered Hangar 8.
