On Monday, March 5, 2012, The School of American Ballet held its highest profile annual benefit, the Winter Ball. KDH was thrilled to attend the glamorous black-tie dinner dance at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater along with 400 patrons, including the School’s board members and alumni as well as leaders from the New York corporate and social communities.

The event featured a one-time-only performance by the advanced students of the School of American Ballet choreographed specifically for this event by SAB and NYCB alumna Melinda Roy. Proceeds from the Winter Ball are used to award scholarships, maintain world-class studios and residence halls, and offer vital student programs beyond the classroom. Almost $1 Million was raised to support the School of American Ballet.

Diana DiMenna, Julia Koch and Betsy Pitts were the gorgeous gala chairs of the ball. With a nod to the night’s Russian theme, Carolina Herrera designed a magnificent mink-trimmed gown for Julia which was unequivocally my favorite dress of the evening.

KDH enjoyed a lovely dinner chat with Arie Kopelman & his elegant wife Coco, who created the Winter Ball event eight years prior.  Always dressed to perfection, Coco wore a gorgeous black velvet strapless vintage Chanel gown with jeweled appliqué.

 

This year Winter Ball guests stepped outside of everyday life and into a fantasy world as the School honored ballet’s Russian heritage. The David H. Koch Theater Promenade was transformed by Ron Wendt Designs and Van Cleef & Arpels into a dramatic and elaborate Winter Palace intended to evoke St. Petersburg’s legendary Le Bal du Palais d’Hiver.

A group of students from the School of American Ballet performed a spectacular pièce d’occasion for dinner guests.

The Encore is the Winter Ball’s after-party. After dinner, 200 of the city’s philanthropic chic young professionals joined the Winter Ball for dessert and dancing to music by DJ Coleman Feltes. The dance floor was packed in a minute with ballet dancers, moguls, and socialites all cutting loose to Pitbull!

Notable attendees included:

Brie Bythewood (Young Patron Co-Chair), Nicolas Bos (President and CEO of the Americas, Van Cleef & Arpels), Ashley Bouder (Principal Dancer, NYCB), Amanda Brotman (Young Patron Co-Chair),  Chelsea Clinton (Young Patron Co-Chair), Lindsay Degen (Designer),Alexandra Lebenthal & Jay Diamond, Diana (Co-Chair) & Joseph DiMenna, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia,Elizabeth Miller (Honorary Chair), Effie & Robert Fribourg, Pamela Joyner (Honorary Chair) &Alfred J. Giuffrida, Sterling Hyltin (Principal Dancer, NYCB), Jill & Harry Kargman, Julia (Co-Chair) &David Koch, Coco(Founding Chair) &Arie Kopelman, Caroline Lagerfelt (Actress, Gossip Girl), Nicolas Luchsinger (Vice President of Retail and Director of the Heritage Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels), Viktor Luna (Designer, Project RunwayFinalist), Yvonne Lynam (Fifth Avenue Boutique Store Director, Van Cleef & Arpels), Ann-Marie MacFarlane(Young Patron Co-Chair),  Terrence Mann, Nole Marin (Celebrity Stylist, Former America’s Next Top Model Judge), Darci Kistler (Former Principal Dancer, NYCB) &Peter Martins (Chairman of Faculty, SAB), Sara Mearns (Principal Dancer, NYCB), Gillian & Sylvester Miniter, Liz & Jeffrey Peek, Lisa Perry (Designer), Betsy (Co-Chair) & Robert Pitts, David Prottas (Dancer, NYCB), Kelly Rutherford (Actress, Gossip Girl), Jean & Martin Shafiroff, Marjorie Van Dercook (Executive Director, SAB), Eileen Guggenheim and Russell Wilkinson.