Gala Puts Guests in the Center of a Cyclone

A force of nature set the tone for the American Ballet Theatre's Fall Gala October 30. After a performance of The Tempest at the Koch Theater, guests sat to dinner in a stormy environment designed by Bronson van Wyck. In the theater's promenade, seven 39-foot prop cyclones swirled up to the ceiling. In the dinner space, a hand-painted 180-foot storm scene wrapped one side of the balconies, and handmade paper cyclones stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Audiovisual effects enhanced the tempestuous environment, and dinner tables included navigational tropes such as compasses, telescopes, and maps.