The American Ballet Theatre and Bel Air backyards seem to go neatly hand in hand. Last year, dancers from the ABT performed at the expansive home of Elliott and Robin Broidy. And last night, Bulgari hosted an intimate dinner for few more than 60 guests at the home of ABT board member Florence Sloan and her husband, Harry, in honor of the ABT's production of Swan Lake at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this weekend. Bulgari is sponsoring the performance series, and Margaret Borner, who heads up Bulgari's special events from her post in New York, oversaw the event.
Evocative of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the dinner party's look was fully ethereal, with billowing white fabric hung about the tent in the sweeping yard—an interpretation of a swan, you might say, so apropos of the ballet's upcoming performance series. Dining tables dotted the property and covered a subfloor built over the pool, and all-white blooms from Eric Buterbaugh were abundant.Bulgari incorporated some of its most unique jewels, brought in from all over the world, into tabletop centerpieces alongside flowers and candles. Guests were welcome to pick up and try on the pieces, which supplied dashes of color on the otherwise black-and-white event palette. One pair of giant emerald earrings on display carry a value of close to $5 million. Unobtrusive security guards stationed themselves discreetly around the perimeter.
String Theory supplied two musicians to entertain guests during the cocktail hour and a string quartet comprising a viola, a cello, and two violins for the dinner portion of the evening, catered by FoodInk. Passed appetizers included beef-wrapped spring asparagus, Parmesan tartlets with caramelized pearl onions, and pesto polenta with tomato fonduta and seared lobster. Guests chose between entrées of parsley-and-parmesan-crusted Alaskan cod with puree of spring peas, or beef involtino with Parmesan, proscuitto, and rosemary. Flourless chocolate torte with white-chocolate-dipped baby pears, hazelnut gelato, and silver leaf was among the dessert offerings, which also included confections in the form of swans.
Evocative of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the dinner party's look was fully ethereal, with billowing white fabric hung about the tent in the sweeping yard—an interpretation of a swan, you might say, so apropos of the ballet's upcoming performance series. Dining tables dotted the property and covered a subfloor built over the pool, and all-white blooms from Eric Buterbaugh were abundant.Bulgari incorporated some of its most unique jewels, brought in from all over the world, into tabletop centerpieces alongside flowers and candles. Guests were welcome to pick up and try on the pieces, which supplied dashes of color on the otherwise black-and-white event palette. One pair of giant emerald earrings on display carry a value of close to $5 million. Unobtrusive security guards stationed themselves discreetly around the perimeter.
String Theory supplied two musicians to entertain guests during the cocktail hour and a string quartet comprising a viola, a cello, and two violins for the dinner portion of the evening, catered by FoodInk. Passed appetizers included beef-wrapped spring asparagus, Parmesan tartlets with caramelized pearl onions, and pesto polenta with tomato fonduta and seared lobster. Guests chose between entrées of parsley-and-parmesan-crusted Alaskan cod with puree of spring peas, or beef involtino with Parmesan, proscuitto, and rosemary. Flourless chocolate torte with white-chocolate-dipped baby pears, hazelnut gelato, and silver leaf was among the dessert offerings, which also included confections in the form of swans.
