Male models circulated during the cocktail reception before the Joffrey Ballet's "Cindy's Having a Ball" luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago on Friday afternoon, handing out long-stem roses to the almost entirely female crowd. "What are these, raffle tickets?" one guest asked. "Nope," her companion sighed. "It's just men with bulging muscles, giving us roses. It's every girl's dream."
Throughout the afternoon, partygoers uttered similar descriptors of girlish delight, one of co-chairs Whitney Lasky and Shawna Owen's goals in planning the event. "The Joffrey Ballet already has a great mother-daughter base," said Lasky in a speech on Friday afternoon. With the luncheon, which celebrated the ballet's current production of Cinderella, the aim was to include the "girl's-night-out ladies" in the company's event demographic, Lasky said. She added that Joffrey exective director Christopher Clinton Conway initially tasked her and Owen with creating an afternoon that had a "Sex and the City meets Cinderella" vibe.
During the cocktail reception, servers circulated with trays of chocolates, pink champagne, and specialty martinis. Party tunes such as Prince's "Kiss" and Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" spilled out of the speakers while guests had their makeup, nails, and hair touched up at pampering stations. A raffle offered prizes such as a pearly tiara, a stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Paris, and a Swarovski-crystal-studded stiletto from designer Brian Atwood.
As a final nod to its night-on-the-town inspiration, the luncheon wrapped with karaoke. Lasky, Owen, and Conway kicked the singing off with their own rendition of Dionne Warwick's "Forever and Ever," which had members of the crowd singing along. Lasky said the vibe was purposely upbeat and laid-back. "Can't you just see Carrie Bradshaw and her friends high-fiving over $18 chopped salads and iced tea? No."
