San Francisco Ballet was in phenomenal form for its Opening Night Gala; fortunately the party's prescient planners were well aware when they picked "Phenomenal" as their evening's accurate, if somewhat abstract, theme. And for all of the distractions of dresses and décor, the evening turned out to be a tribute to the tenacious, turbulent, tremulous, tender, and tremendously talented dancers who make every night their opening night. The two and a half hour performance, nestled between cocktails and dinner and dancing after, offered a dozen delights. A broad swath of musical styles demonstrated the complex charms of choreography; some pieces presented the performers' flawlessly classical technique, while others widened the interpretation, incorporating African folk and jazz rhythms into the mix. The Bedroom pas de deux from Manon showed ballet at its most sensuous; The "Finding Light" duet set to Vivaldi managed to be both modern and almost medieval. The performance pieces were selected to showcase the range and ability of the performers, whose remarkable abilities and flawless physiques were in admirable evidence throughout. This was a dancer's dream, and a balletomane's banquet.
The evening began in City Hall, with a promenade of grand gowns and genuine gentlemen. Riccardo Benevides masterminded the décor, which used lighting to project pirouetting dancers onto the grey walls of the rotunda, an innovative use of the space which reminded patrons of the true purpose of the party. McCalls delivered a luscious lobster and satisfying short rib dinner with precision and politeness, no easy feat for a crowd of thousands.
The gala was chaired by Tanya Powell, who began the gala in a grand black Vera Wang ball gown with a cascade of beige ruffles; for the after party, she changed into Dolce and Gabbana's Ravenna-inspired mosaic shift, with matching orthodox crown. Patricia Loucks ably chaired the dinner in glimmering dark green, while Décor Chair Shelley Gordon glammed it up in lipstick red loveliness. Many dresses defined the grand gesture: Komal Shah alighted the staircase in voluminous tulle ruffles of mimosa yellow; Minal Jethmal in cantaloupe-colored go-go Gucci, Stephanie Ejabat in flower-power Giambattista Valli, Carolyn Chang in a chic indigo goddess column,
Yurie Pascarella in a stunning black mermaid gown, Betsy Linder also a beauty in black, Charlotte Shultz in a garden of verdantly printed sea foam, accompanied by her natty hubby George Shultz in surprising dark blue velvet tux, Norman Stone in a daring Dolce and Gabbana Dinner jacket, with wife Norah in equally eclectic-chic feather coat from Doru Olowu, newly engaged Rosemary Baker glowing in a fuschia ombre one shoulder, Nadine Weill in champagne sequins, Alison Mauze in graphite Oscar, Nancy Kukacka in giraffe-sequin Michael Kors, Robin Collins in a black cascade of Oscar confection, Allegro Circle Chair Erin Glenn looked like an elegant ecclesiastic in a smashing black Valentino with white beaded collar and cuffs, Dede Wilsey's soft shell-pink embroidered Oscar set off her dramatic diamonds, Daru Kawalkowski did not disappoint in a white column with a white feather capelet, Dark Garden corsetiere Autumn Adamme brought a bit of Downton to downtown, although her violet corset and skirt for Elizabeth Fullerton was more Elizabethan, Denise Hale's gorgeous embroidered Gianfranco Ferre coat was a smashing standout in silver, Carolyn Chandler was stunning in strapless purple embroidered with gold, OJ Shansby's ruby strapless satin matched the parure around her neck, Paula Carano in watermelon strapless was a curvaceous dream, Kristi Yamaguchi in a brown form-fitting flapper style that shows her perfect form, local couturiers Azadeh Riaz, Karen Caldwell, and Lily Samii all wore their own creations with charm, Claudia Ross and Marybeth Lamotte were both channeling siren-red Valley of the Dolls 'do's, Clara Shayevich in red fit-and-flare lace. Yuan-Yuan Tan's post-performance sequin cheongsam was nearly as spectacular as her performance, as was Maria Kotchetkova, who dresses to her own delightful taste.
Many of the boys did it up, too -- Tim Wu wore a signature silver dinner jacket, Wilkes Bashford sported a Kelly green satin vest with his proper peak-lapel tux, Ricky Serbin brought out the broadtail, Orlando Diaz-Azcuy wore a dapper dinner jacket with a pastel purple bow tie, Joel Goodrich was elegant as ever, and Mark Rhoades wore Johnny Cash black. Many more men tied on the black tie with distinction, with a grateful nod from their escorts.
Modesty also marked the evening. This was a moment for the collective celebration, not the glorification of one. In his opening remarks, Board Chair John Osterweis thanked his colleagues for agreeing to underwrite the party as Presenting sponsor; many more sponsorships and abundant benefactors enabled the Ballet to raise over $2.4 million over the evening. And Helgi Tomasson, true to form, waited patiently in line for his ticket just like everyone else.
On pointe: Nancy and Paul Pelosi, Executive Director Glenn McCoy, Brenda Jewett, Ann and Bob Fisher, Kelli and Steve Burrill, Bernard and Barbro Osher, Nancy and Joachim Bechtle, Lori Shikegane, Paul and Silvia Edwards, Darryl and Celeste Woo, Sobia and Nadir Shaikh, Carole Shorenstein Hays and Jeffrey Hays, Camille Church and Christopher Bently, Barbara Brown, Daniel Diaz, chanteuse Paula West, events maven Elaine Mellis, Justin Fichelson, Shelby Gans, Auxiliary Chair Jennifer Brandenburg, BRAVO Predident Patricia Knight, Encore President Jane Burkhard, Stewart McDowell Brady and Philip Brady, Amy Wender-Hoch and john Hoch, Glenn and Bettina Duval, Karen and Bill Sonneborn, Judy Swanson, Donald Van de Mark, Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, Meridee Moore and Kevin King, David Laudon and Randall Laroche, and many, many more who believe in the phenomenon of the phenomenal San Francisco ballet.