Chipper, like April

Sunday morning walk. 10:00 AM. Photo: Jeffrey Hirsch.

Monday, April 22, 2013. Beautiful, sunny weekend in New York, temps in the 40s and 50s. Chipper, like April.

On the walk home Thursday afternoon on East 65th heading toward Park. I got a close up of these flowers which are just about ready to depart from the leaves.

Friday afternoon riding home in a taxi from a business meeting in Chinatown. Traveling through Chelsea to the West Side Highway: A school playground.

Barry Diller's IAC headquarters designed by Frank Gehry.

From a single to a trio ... in for the night.

Last night I went down to the Four Seasons restaurant on East 52nd for the annual Through the Kitchen dinner which benefits the Cancer Research Institute Irvington Fellowship Program. Lauren Veronis started this Sunday night affair thirty-one years ago this year, and they’ve raised $8 million for this one program. The Institute concentrates on research in the field of immunology.

Mrs. Veronis brings out a good crowd of many prominent New Yorkers. Mayor Bloomberg and Diana Taylor were among the guests. It is one of the few benefits that the mayor takes the time out to attend. And on Sunday night too. Police Commissioner Kelly was also there with his wife Veronica.

The menu for last night's "Through the Kitchen" benefit, placed at the entrance.

The devoted supporters.

A lot of the guests are friends, or no more than two degrees of separation from almost everyone in the room. It could be called the Lauren Veronis’ own private Linked-In. It also attracts friends of friends. The reason they can pull in several hundreds on a Sunday night is because of The Cause, of course, but also there’s a camaraderie in the room.

And the food. That is Lauren Veronis’ ace. And in this beautiful, now landmarked classic restaurant of New York. They give you a chef’s apron as you enter the kitchen, big plate in hand. And before you it's ... a cornucopia. It brings out the You-Know-What in the best of us. There’s just about everything imaginable (that you love to eat even if you know you shouldn’t) waiting in long buffets. And maybe because it is actually serve-yourself-in-the-kitchen-buffet, it’s kinda homey, like a Sunday night.

Cocktails over, time to move into the kitchen.

Still in the bar area. That's Diana Taylor on the far left, talking to Dr. Dick Levine and Jenny Conant; the Mayor is to the right of them with his back to the camera; Jeanne Siegel is talking to Lauren Veronis; Larry Leeds is the man with the red in his blue blazer; Patricia Ganzi to the right of him.

In the crowd: Susan and Tony Bennett, The Mayor and Diana Taylor, Joyce Brown and Carl McCall, Hilary and Joe Califano; Drs. Lew Cantley and Vicki Soto, Joe Cohen and Lally Weymouth, Virginia and Peter Duchin, Joanne and Roberto de Guardiola, Caroline and Thom Dean, Elizabeth Lindeman, Greg Kelly, Herb and Jeanne Siegel, Cathy Black, Irvin Levy and Joanie Schnitzer, Mr. and Mrs. Regis Philbin, Ce Ce Cord, Maurice Sonnenberg, Carol Mack, David and Lisa Schiff, Marlene Hess and Jim Zirin, Danielle Ganek, Larry and Dalia Leeds, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Leeds, Amelia Ogunlesi, Katherine Oliver, Andrew and Ann Tisch, LeAnn Waldron, Barbara and Peter Georgescu, Polly Espy, Sandy Golinkin, Linda Johnson, Joel Klein and Nicole Seligman, Jenny Conant and Steve Kroft, Charles Gargano and Marilyn Alfred, Barbara Walters, Ken and Elaine Langone, Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder, Margie and Michael Loeb, Susan and Tim Malloy, Linda Wells, Caryn Zucker, Nancy and Joe Missett, Deborah Norville and Karl Wellner, Governor George Pataki, Paula and Leon Root, Alex Lind and Louis Rose, Rosanna Scotto and Lou Ruggiero, Lois and Arthur Stainman, Perri Peltz and Eric Ruttenberg, Jane and Jim Stern, Kathy and Andrew Thomas, Alfred and Judy Taubman, Cyrus and Peggy Vance, and hundreds more just just like ‘em waiting to hit the buffet tables (and go back for more).

DeJuan Stroud did the table settings with the theme of famous women of accomplishment. Such as Marilyn Monroe, Sophie Tucker, Gypsy Rose Lee, Pocahantas, Mae West, Amelia Earhart, Tammy Faye Baker (... so?), Shirley Temple, Hetty Green, Dr. Renée Richards, Ma Barker, Betty Crocker, Jackie Kennedy, Lauren Veronis (this was a last minute secret from Mrs. V carried out by her daughter Perri Peltz). Stroud does the tables every year and they’re real party pleasers and interesting to look at (and take home if you feel like it).

Ellen and Dr. Dick Levine.

Charles Tolbert and Anna Ponder.

Diana Taylor and Marlene Hess.

Joanie Schnitzer and Lisa Schiff.

Jamie Niven, the Exec-VP of Sotheby’s held one of his Jamie auctions where he talks nitty-gritty to his audiences since he knows a lot of them and knows what they’re good for. Everyone has a good laugh while he’s at it (and while they’re giving). He raised another $200,000 in a ten-minute period and kept everyone’s attention (wondering what he’d say next). Mrs. Veronis told the guests that Michael Bloomberg has been a supporter of this project since its inception, and continues to provide support. She presented the Mayor with a framed apron (you get a chef’s apron every year – very useful in your kitchen).

After the brief presentation to the Mayor and Mr. Niven’s private auction, they open the doors to the dessert room on the next level. Everyone, all hundreds of them, immediately head for it. Sugah sugah. And by nine-thirty people begin heading out.

Out of the Grille Room and into the kitchen.

The camera greets the guests in the kitchen.

And here we are, plate in hand.

The meats. Notice the apron, smart length.

The salmon and the sauces ...

DeJuan Stroud did the table settings with the theme of famous women of accomplishment ...

View of the pool room last night as guests made their way to the dessert floor.

And this is what they came upon. And filled their plates with.

This past Friday night, BOMB, the magazine, held its 32nd Anniversary Gala and Silent Auction at Capitale. They honored Trish Brown, Beth Rudin DeWoody, and Kyle DeWoody, and Raymond Pettibon. Honorary Chairs were Jon Robin Baitz and Melva Bucksbaum and Ray Learsy. Co-chairs for the evening were Cary Brown-Epstein, Eric Diefenbach and JK Brown, Joanne Leonhardt Casullo, Marcia and Richard Mishaan, Shaun Caley Regen, and David Zwirner.

Suzanne Cochran, Janine Yoss, Christina Lurie, and Jennifer Danner.

Sabrina Leichter and Kyle DeWoody.

Klaus Kertess.

Scott Campbell and Lake Bell.

Liliana Cavendish and Hunt Slonem.

Lisa Phillips, Beth Rudin DeWoody, and Rachel Hovnanian.

Uzoamaka Maduka and Jonathan Marder.

Melva Bucksbaum.

Alan Alda.

Bridgette Finn and Ann Schaffer.

Rachel Hovnanian and Adam Weinberg.

Jordan Doner and Olesya Anisimovich.

Firooz Zahedi and Fiona Rudin.

Mary Whitten, Michele Oka Done, Frederick Doner, Betsy Sussler, and Jack Whitten.

Vincent Fremont and Caroline Newhouse.

Judy Auchincloss and Fredric Tuten.

Joe Sheftel and Joanne Cassullo.

Edgar Arceneaux and Alice Judelson.

Tom Cashin and Jay Johnson.

Last Thursday night over at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center they held the YAGP Gala, the final evening of the Youth America Grand Prix: “Stars of Tomorrow Meet the Stars of Today.” This is about the ballet. The Everything Is Beautiful part. And it is.

Each year the YAGP hold auditions for 5000 students worldwide, by video and through the United States and international semi-finals conducted by the Youth American Grand Prix. Auditions are conducted in 12 major U.S. metropolitan areas and in Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, and France.

Of the five thousand entering the competition, 350 of the most promising soloists from 30 countries and five continents are chosen for the New York City finals. Those finals were held this past Wednesday. The final round was this past Thursday night when the public could see the best of the competition with the best of the top soloists in the junior (age 12-14) and senior (age 15- 19) divisions perform one last time before the winners are announced.

Soon Yi Previn Allen and Karen LeFrak.

Woody Allen.

Mason and Kim Granger.

Gary and Barbara Brandt.

Karen LeFrak, Hilary Geary Ross, Jamee Gregory, Janna Bullock, and Eleanora Kennedy.

Linda Morse.

Fiona Rudin.

B. Michael.

Jennifer Titman, Hilary Hirsch, Charles Chaitman, and Emilia Hirsch.

James Bort and Dorothee Gilbert.

Wilbur Ross and Hilary Geary Ross.

Irene Shen and Tyler Angle.

Andrew and Kamie Lightburn.

The performance began at 7. When I arrived at the theater at 6:30 there was a big crowd both outside and in the lobby, including a lot of children and young people with the enthusiasm you might see at a rock concert or an athletic play-off events.
That energy swept right into the auditorium and from the moment the curtain was raised, the packed house were presented two and a half hours (with intermission) of riveting, sometimes thrilling, often disarming entertainment provided by remarkably talented people from very young to mature. There were among the very young who were already champions in the eyes of the audience.

The evening opened with a video and violinist Elli Choi of the Juilliard School accompanied on the piano by Carlos Avila performing a “Carmen Fantasy” (Music by Pablo de Sarasate). Miss Choi who looks to be no more than ten or twelve (although quite possibly up close she’s a little older — but maybe younger) is an extraordinary violinist. Her performance set the tone for the evening.

The stars of the Ballet last Thursday night for the benefit of the YAGP at the David Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.

This was followed by The Winners of the YAGP 2013 International Student Ballet Competition. This began with very young dancers (looking no more than 8 or 10 years old – although again possibly a little bit older – to late teenagers. All of the performances were sensational and the theater audience (especially the younger crowd) went wild with bravos, whistles and applause. That elevated the tone to one of excitement and color of a sporting event. I could see (and hear from the audience) that ballet is still new all over again, and the youngest generations need only be exposed to it.

There were separate performances by each age group winners, and then the Grand Defile -- a specially choreographed piece d’occasion for more than 250 YAGP participants from 28 countries and throughout the United States, choreographed by Carlos dos Santos, Jr. with music by Pietr Tchaikovsky. More sensational.

The Stars of Today taking their bows.

These were the “Stars of Tomorrow” and you could believe it when you saw them; they were so good, sometimes thrilling and always winning. My apparently boundless enthusiasm about it is the only way I can express the wonder of it all. This had been a bad week in our world, all around. But up there on the stage of the David Koch Theater was the future with nothing but hope and good news provided by the young.

This was followed by the “Stars of Today”—a series of pieces. Performers were: Clifton Brown, “Take 5” choreography by Fredrick Earl Mosley; Svetlana Lunkina of the Bolshoi, dancing La Bayadere – Nikiya Monologue, Choreography by Marius Petipa; Viengsay Valdes and Osiel Gouneo of the National Ballet of Cuba; Double Bounce, choreography by Peter Quanz, music by David Lang; Teresa Reichlen and Tyler Angle (of the NYC Ballet), Partita No. 2 in C Minor, world premiere; Choreography Emery LeCrone, Music by J.S. Bach; Chase Finlay of the NYC Ballet dancing Tous Les Jours (also US premiere) with choreography by Marcelo Gomes and music by Karen LeFrak (this had its world premiere at the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg last March); Dorothee Gilbert (of the Paris Opera) dancing with Marcelo Gomes (ABT), Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Balcony Pas de Deux, choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan; music by Sergei Prokofiev; Maria Kochetkova (San Francisco Ballet) and Lonnie Weeks (a YAGP alum now with the SF Ballet), dancing Borderlands Pas de Deux– New York Premiere; Choreography by Wayne McGregor and Music by Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney; Nina Ananiashvili (of the Tbilisi Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theatre) and Lil Buck, dancing Swan (Piece d’occasion) with Choreography by Mikhail Fokine, Lil Buck, and music by Saint-Saens; and Misa Kuranaga of the Boston Ballet, and Herman Cornejo of the ABT and Alejandro Virelles (another YAGP alum, now with the Boston Ballet) dancing Le Corsaire – Pas de Trois with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Adolphe Adam. A brilliant evening at the ballet.

Dinner on the promenade.

Photographs by Patrick McMullan (Grand Prix, Bomb).

Contact DPC here.

Chipper, like April

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