Pic of the Week

Friday, January 22nd, 2010 | All Posts by Open Studio 455, Pic of the Week | No Comments

The Grand Benefactor dinner at City Hall for Wednesday's Opening Night Gala: Silver Celebration.

Tags: Opening Night Gala

SFB Scene

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 | All Posts by Open Studio 455, SFB Scene | No Comments

• Tonight is the kickoff of SF Ballet’s 2010 season with the Opening Night Gala: Silver Celebration. The evening’s festivities celebrate Helgi Tomasson’s 25^th years as Artistic Director and include an elegant cocktail reception and dinner in City Hall followed by the gala performance. Casting has been announced for tonight’s performance, and includes excerpts from a number of Tomasson’s acclaimed works. After the performance, a post-performance party in City Hall will feature three exclusive dance clubs, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. There’s still time to order tickets to both the performance and the post-performance party! Can’t wait until tonight’s performance? Check out the below highlight video from last year’s Gala.
• Just a few short days after the Gala celebration, Swan Lake will open on Saturday, January 23.  In case you haven’t seen it, the homepage of the website now features a video trailer of the production!  Click here to see a behind-the-scenes video of the making of the production.

Tags: Opening Night Gala, Swan Lake

Silver Celebration in The Nob Hill Gazette

Monday, January 4th, 2010 | All Posts by Laurie Sharp | No Comments

Recently, I took part in a cover shoot for the January issue of The Nob Hill Gazette and it was a blast! I dutifully showed up for my hair and make-up two hours before the photo shoot was to begin.

Here I am in one of the Ballet studios getting prepped.

That morning, I had to ask myself if I really required all this help for one photo; I then  remembered that the Gazette has a very large circulation and that I was representing the Ballet, so I donned my sweats, grabbed a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and silently thanked those responsible for my transformation.

A big thank you to Publicity Co-Chair Kate Coffino and to Dana Stoloff at St. John for the beautiful gown I wore in the shoot. I was proud to be on the cover with Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson and his wife, Marlene; take a look!

Here it is, the photo from the cover! (photo by Claudia Goetzelmann for The Nob Hill Gazette)

Tags: Auxiliary, Helgi Tomasson, Opening Night Gala

It Takes a Village

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 | All Posts by Laurie Sharp, SFB Scene | No Comments

Undertaking the role of chair for SF Ballet’s Opening Night Gala is no small task.  I’m charged with the responsibility of leading a team of 15 steering committee chairs, as well as dozens of committee members and volunteers. In addition, I’ve worked closely with the staff of the Ballet Association for almost 12 months with the dual goals of raising funds to support the Ballet through this event, while heightening awareness of the Ballet in our community.  I’m averaging 15-20 hours a week on this project – wow, who knew!

Special thanks goes out to Décor Chair Karen Murphy, and Blueprint Studios, our décor/designer, for their hard work. Below is an image of Helgi Tomasson that we used for the gala invitation; I think it’s very fitting for the occasion, given that the event is in honor of his 25^th anniversary with the Company!

An image from this year's gala invitation

Tags: Auxiliary, Helgi Tomasson, Opening Night Gala