To celebrate its 2005 achievements—including acquiring the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise—BankAtlantic threw a high-energy appreciation dinner, called Red Carpet 2005, that took its cue from spy thrillers. Donna Swenson, the company's assistant vice president and manager of event operations, planned the event with Mona Meretsky of COMCOR Event and Meeting Production Inc. The event featured sizzling dance routines with a cool interactive art display.
"We wanted to reward our employees for helping us achieve our goals and get them excited and ready for the new year," Jarett Levan, BankAtlantic's president, said of the Mission: Possible theme.
After a brief introduction by C.E.O., Alan Levan, the New Century Dance Company kicked off the marketing presentation with a funky dance number that featured dancers in furry white boots and down jackets dancing alongside a cardboard pyramid that represented the company's new marketing strategy. In the second number, the dancers (wearing black trench coats and sleek unitards) stole the pyramid. Next, 15-foot screens on either side of the stage projected a video of the C.E.O. searching for the lost pyramid. In the final scene, Levan gets locked into a walk-in freezer and needs rescuing.
When the screens faded to black, Garrett Production Group illuminated the stage to reveal a block of ice that appeared to have Levan frozen into it. That's when the rumble of two chain-saw-wielding ice sculptors from Fear No Ice grabbed the crowd's attention. The sculptors ran down the aisle, leaped onstage, and began carving. Chiseling and carving to the beats of techno music, the sculptors helped break Levan out of the frozen chamber. With the pyramid in hand, Levan emerged from the ice and finished his presentation.
Meretsky conceived and directed the performance. "The agenda she proposed was ambitious. We needed to meet several specifications [to ensure Levan's safety] in order for the show to work properly, but in the end I was pleased with the way it turned out," Swenson said.
—Vanessa Goyanes
Photos: Dave DeCota
"We wanted to reward our employees for helping us achieve our goals and get them excited and ready for the new year," Jarett Levan, BankAtlantic's president, said of the Mission: Possible theme.
After a brief introduction by C.E.O., Alan Levan, the New Century Dance Company kicked off the marketing presentation with a funky dance number that featured dancers in furry white boots and down jackets dancing alongside a cardboard pyramid that represented the company's new marketing strategy. In the second number, the dancers (wearing black trench coats and sleek unitards) stole the pyramid. Next, 15-foot screens on either side of the stage projected a video of the C.E.O. searching for the lost pyramid. In the final scene, Levan gets locked into a walk-in freezer and needs rescuing.
When the screens faded to black, Garrett Production Group illuminated the stage to reveal a block of ice that appeared to have Levan frozen into it. That's when the rumble of two chain-saw-wielding ice sculptors from Fear No Ice grabbed the crowd's attention. The sculptors ran down the aisle, leaped onstage, and began carving. Chiseling and carving to the beats of techno music, the sculptors helped break Levan out of the frozen chamber. With the pyramid in hand, Levan emerged from the ice and finished his presentation.
Meretsky conceived and directed the performance. "The agenda she proposed was ambitious. We needed to meet several specifications [to ensure Levan's safety] in order for the show to work properly, but in the end I was pleased with the way it turned out," Swenson said.
—Vanessa Goyanes
Photos: Dave DeCota