The National Ballet of Canada's annual black-tie fundraiser, Mad Hot Ballet, is a long night that includes two receptions, a performance, full dinner, speeches and dancing – all with a 5:30 p.m. start. Still, it has become one of the events that I and many gala-goers most look forward to during the spring season in Toronto. It's an evening where guests truly pull out all the stops. The result is a room full of wonderful-looking people having a fabulous time in support of this country's largest ballet company. The scene is a mix of arts-minded big givers, fashion plates and ballet dancers from both the company's storied past and its impressive present.
This year's edition, held on June 6, boasted a Northern Lights theme in honour of Canada's sesquicentennial, but another anniversary was celebrated during the evening as well – the company's 65th. To mark it, homage was paid to a handful of Canadian dance luminaries including Veronica Tennant, Frank Augustyn, artist-in-residence Rex Harrington and the divine Evelyn Hart, who was seated across from me at dinner.
The evening also recognized Greta Hodgkinson, who has been with the company for 25 years, and principal dancer Xiao Nan Yu, who celebrates 20 years with the National Ballet. Hodgkinson performed Nuages alongside guest artist Marcelo Gomes, principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, while Yu, alongside Harrison James and Félix Paquet in costumes conceived by Canadian-born designer Erdem Moralioglu, was at the centre of the world premiere of The Sea Above, The Sky Below, a remarkable piece by choreographer-on-the-rise Robert Binet. He also premiered Surge, which on this evening was performed by a dozen or so students from the National Ballet School. Also performing for the nearly 2,000 in attendance was principal dancer Jurgita Dronina and first soloist Francesco Gabriele Frola, who did a pas de deux from Le Corsaire, and principal dancers Elena Lobsanova and Naoya Ebe who performed a piece from Coppélia. The highlight for those who revel in the limelight might be the photo ops during cocktails or the chatter during dinner, but it's these performances that always leave me breathless.
Post performances, it was drinks for gala guests in the Henry N.R. Jackman Lounge before we made our way back into R. Fraser Elliott Hall for dinner on the main stage. It's always a great pleasure to have dinner where the pros perform. To my right was Claudine Bailey. She and husband John are long-time ballet supporters who have underwritten the Erik Bruhn Prize competition this year. To my left was the wonderful principal dancer Svetlana Lunkina. And at the table, too, sat corps de ballet member Kota Sato and Burgundy Asset Management CEO Tony Arrell and his wife Anne, who sponsor Sato through the company's Dancers First program. There, too, across the way was principal artistic coach Magdalena Popa and music director and principal conductor David Briskin with his wife Julia.
It's rare in Toronto for gala-goers to stay past dessert, but many on this night took to the dance floor, or stage rather, with verve. Among them: gala co-chairs and couple Jonathan Bloomberg and Emily Burnett; philanthropic types including Emmanuelle Gattuso; Jonas and Lynda Prince; Ivan Fecan; Elvio and Marlene DelZotto; and Senator Nicole Eaton. Also out: fashion plates Sylvia Mantella, Suzanne Rogers, Krystal Koo Cooper and Simona Shnaider; financier David Macdonald and his wife Sarah; first vice president at CIBC Wood Gundy Jay Smith and his wife Laura Rapp; principal dancer and scene regular Evan McKie; Chestnut Park's Jimmy Molloy and his wife Bernadette Morra, honorary co-chair for the event; dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov; and of course, the ever soigné artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada Karen Kain. The evening raised an impressive $1.3-million.
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