RASING THE BARRE
“It’s wonderful,” noted American Ballet Theater’s Kevin McKenzie. “We’re really excited about returning to Southern California.”
No doubt the ABT’s artistic director was right. So excited, the glorious troupe couldn’t even wait for the first of their five performances of “Le Corsaire” at the L.A. Music Center.
On the eve of opening night, ABT’s heavenly bodies came twirling into town, sweeping past Topanga, leaping through Broad Beach and landing on the tennis court of Nancy and Howard Marks’ magnificent Malibu estate.
That’s where the ABT trustees hosted an unforgettable evening under the stars for a handful of select pals including Cindy Crawford, Peter Chernin, Lou Adler, Eli Broad as well as Michael Milken, who has become quite a big-time ballet fan of late thanks to his daughter Barry, a talented dancer and student of the Westside Ballet.
The guests mingled poolside for fresh peach bellinis, smoked salmon and duck potstickers while admiring one of California’s most spectacular oceanfront abodes.
At twilight, they moved courtside for a look at those magical legs and arms in action. ABT principals wowed the crowd with two favorites, the Pas de Deux from “Swan Lake” featuring Nina Ananiashvili and Maxim Belotserkovsky and a preview of “Le Corsaire” that had Paloma Herrera on her toes and Angel Corella absolutely airborne.
Following the bravos, the guests followed the glow and scent of floral tea lights through the rose garden into an expansive indoor-outdoor dining room, where the tables were covered with pink, white and yellow petals strewn beneath flickering hurricane lamps. Under a ceiling of bulbous Japanese lanterns, they tucked into a light supper of gazpacho soup, baked halibut and stuffed artichokes as they reveled in ABT’s return.
The company completed its successful run of “Le Corsaire” on July 14. Any chance to get out and see the ABT is sweet, but it’s even sweeter when the ABT comes out to see you.
CHER-ING THE STAGE
When it comes to making an entrance you’d better believe that no one does it better than Cher. The local diva headlined an opening night bash at the glitzy, $1 billion Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Before a VIP audience, which included the likes of former prez Bill Clinton, never-shy Cher descended 40 feet atop a glittering chandelier wearing not much more than a diamond studded G-string.
The performance had an exotic “Arabian Nights” theme with the songbird strutting on stage in a glorious collection of get-ups, as beefy slaves did the bump and grind. Cher shared the stage with other noteworthy names. Mr. Bill jammed on sax with Blues Brothers’ Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, while Rosie O’Donnell teamed up with Cyndi Lauper singing that fun-loving 80s anthem, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”