Raising $2.5 million and drawing more than 500 guests, the Boston Ballet’s most ambitious signature event, the Balanchine Ball, was by all standards a success.But the event's favorable outcome was a point of some uncertainty for Linda Jones, director of the Boston Ballet's corporate partnerships and events. Why? Because this event, held June 1 at the Castle at Park Plaza, was originally scheduled to be held on April 20, a mere five days after the two explosions ripped through the Boston Marathon finish line.
"After careful consideration and input from trustees, sponsors, and city officials, we made the decision after the Monday attacks to stay 'Boston Strong' and move forward as planned with the event [on April 20]," Jones said. With the Castle then serving as an emergency Red Cross disaster-relief shelter, keeping on schedule required some intricate maneuvering. A day after the Red Cross team moved out of the Castle, the Boston Ballet production team moved in to quickly begin transforming the space. But, then, on April 19, the unthinkable happened. A manhunt began for bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and the city of Boston went on lock-down. In the end, Jones and her colleagues were forced to postpone the gala.
For Jones, the postponement was the most challenging experience. "An event of this magnitude required that we basically plan the event twice. We traditionally book our venue at least one year in advance, and scrambling to resecure our top-choice venue with only five weeks to coordinate before the end of the [spring gala] season proved very difficult," Jones said. She and her staff were then tasked with reaching out to more than 500 guests to inform them of the postponement.
Despite these challenges, Jones cites the positive feedback from the Boston community, as well as from Eleanor and Frank Pao, the evening’s honorees, as the pillars of support that she and her staff needed to replan the event. Ultimately, out of the more than 500 guests that R.S.V.P.'d for the April 20 event, only nine fewer guests responded for the June 1 date. And, the majority of those who could not attend made a contribution to the Boston Ballet equaling the price of their ticket.
The resiliency of the Boston community, and that of the Boston Ballet supporters in particular, was not surprising to Jones, who believes that the generosity of the patrons and honorees proved that the company is "Boston Strong." At the event itself, the Boston Ballet paid tribute to those lost and hurt in the bombings through three performances. At the event, speakers quoted the ballet's artistic director, Mikko Nissinen: "Dance is about the flight of the human spirit and has the power to uplift us from tragedy."
