After a 17-year hiatus, the American Ballet Theatre returned the Windy City to perform Giselle at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Thursday through Sunday. The engagement kicked off a new, six-year partnership between the theater and the New York-based company, which will include three collaborative performances.
On Wednesday night, the Auditorium Theatre hosted an intimate dinner at the Ivy Room at Tree Studios. The event had a simple goal: "to welcome back American Ballet Theatre," said Auditorium Theatre's donor relations manager Amanda Martinez Byrne.
Due to the unseasonably sunny and warm March weather, "[we had] the wonderful opportunity to hold the cocktail reception outdoors in the courtyard," said Martinez Byrne. There, fairy lights illuminated trees, purple linens and roses decked highboy tables, and the Red Riding Hood Quartet, clad in flowing white gowns, played familiar songs such as "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
Food for Thought's dinner was served inside, where springy, purple-and-green decor mimicked the color scheme used in the ballet company's promotional images.
The 90 guests included arts patrons and ballet fans as well as members of the American Ballet Theatre and its artistic director, Kevin McKenzie. During the run of Giselle, other events included a Friday-night cocktail reception hosted by the theater's junior board, a chat with the artists, and an open dress rehearsal.
The company was received "wonderfully" during its short stay in Chicago, said Martinez Byrne. "The reception from Chicago audiences was terrific, [and] the press hailed American Ballet Theatre."
