The 2023 New York City Ballet Fall Gala
New York City Ballet 2023 fall gala raised $3.75m in celebration of the company’s 75th anniversary featuring:
Choreography by George Balanchine
With Costume Designs by Wes Gordon For Carolina Herrera
With Special Performances By Guest Vocalists Patti Lupone, Vanessa Williams, and Joshua Henry
As well as choreography by Jerome Robbins set to music by Phillip Glass
On Thursday evening October 5, 2023, the New York City Ballet celebrated its 75th Anniversary with the eleventh annual Fall Gala held at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Co-founding choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins were celebrated as excerpts from some of their most beloved works were performed as never before seen. Award-winning artists Patti Lupone, Vanessa Williams, and Joshua Henry took the stage as guest vocalists for a one-time-only performance of Balanchine’s Who Cares?, which was set to a series of George Gershwin songs. The piece also featured new costume designs by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera. Dancers from the NYCB also performed Robbins’ Glass Pieces, set to the music of Phillip Glass.
Quotes from the evening’s program:
- Sarah Jessica Parker:
- “This fall gala is one of my favorite times of the year when a few of my favorite things converge – the fine art of fashion, the metropolis of New York, and the New York City Ballet.”
- “It’s been 75 years of extraordinary artistry from this otherworldly company. It’s been 75 years of other-worldly dancers perfecting their craft, in service of us mere mortals below. It’s been 75 years of ethereal and ephemeral productions from Serenade to Jewels to Glass Pieces. It’s been 75 years of tireless staff members working to keep this organization at the heights our dancers reach onstage, with equal grace. It’s been 75 years of valiant angels and artisans working ingeniously to enrobe our dancers; to create worlds on stages, illuminated; and to infuse these worlds with music. It’s been 75 years of generous supporters creating possibilities and ensuring a solid foundation for our institution’s longevity. All of this, so that all of us can experience this collective and magnificent creation that is the New York City Ballet so that we can enliven our collective imagination so that we can pause, together, breathless in wonder. Yes, it’s been 75 years of hard work resulting in unquestionable magic.”
- Diana Taylor:
- “This evening is a jewel within our season, a centerpiece of this 75th-anniversary diamond jubilee year. 75 years for a brilliant idea to grow into one of the world’s cultural treasures. Like carbon crystallizing through time and under pressure, a diamond emerged. This is the New York City Ballet.”
- Kathy Brown:
- “The funds raised through this event are essential in helping make all we do possible – from the magnificent performances in this beautiful theater to new work created through choreographic commissions, to our art series audience expansion initiative, and to our education programs that reach over 20,000 children and adults every year, and much more.”
Guests at this year’s gala included Carolina Herrera (Honorary Co-Chair), Andy Cohen (Gala Co-Chair), Jill Kargman (Gala Co-Chair), Diane Kruger (Gala Co-Chair), Sarah Jessica Parker (Gala Co-Chair), Mazdack and Zanna Rassi (Gala Co-Chairs), Jordan Roth (Gala Co-Chair), Lizzie Tisch (Gala Co-Chair), Naomi Watts (Gala Co-Chair), Scott Wittman (Gala Co-Chair), Dianna Agron, John and Jody Arnhold, Paul Arnhold, Amy Astley, Daniel Benedict, Emily Blavatnik, Nicole Bloom, Matthew Broderick, Laura Brown, Hannah Corbin, Christian Cowan, Emira D’Spain, Ariana DeBose, Bridget Everett, Fe Fendi, Fernando Garcia, Ivy Getty, Jeremy O. Harris, Ubah Hassan, Nicky Hilton, Sarah Hoover, Richie Jackson, Serena Kerrigan, Carol Mack, Debra Martin Chase, Talia Parkinson, Jenny Paulson, Karen Pittman, Robert Pollock, Zac Posen, Norman Reedus, Molly Ringwald, Deborah Roberts, Al Roker, David Rubin, Emilie Rubinfeld, Amy Sedaris, Jonathan Stafford, Lesley Stahl, Allyson Tang, Diana Taylor, Tinx, Christy Turlington, Justin Theroux, Kay Unger, Bronson Van Wyck, Wendy Whelan, and Brynn Whitfield.
The Fall Gala was generously sponsored by Vacheron Constantin and Wells Fargo, with additional support from The Macallan.
