Daily Front Row

2010 June 15

Dancing with the Stars

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Leith Clark, Yelena Yemchuk, Maggie Gyllenhaal in 3.1 Phillip Lim, Sarah Sophie Flicker in Anne Valerie Hash
PATRICK MCMULLAN/PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) The spring ballet benefit madness continued last night at the David H. Koch Theatre for the annual Dance with the Dancers extravaganza to benefit City Ballet. The likes of Julie Ordon, Amy Sacco, Sarah Sophie Flicker and the night’s Honorary Chairman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, stormed the Upper West Side for dinner, dancing, and schmoozing with the gifted dancers of the company. “I did ballet as a child,” said an excited Alexandra Lebenthal. “I auditioned [at the school here] when I was eight and I did not get in. So when I joined the board, I mentioned that I had auditioned and five minutes later, the guy who was giving me the tour came out with my audition card from 1973!”

The cocktail reception was followed by a dinner of fish, quinoa, green beans and a dancing portion curated by Donna D’Cruz. “It’s very exciting to be here, to interpret dance and music,” she smiled from her booth. “I know that the dancers are going to do their own interpretation…I long to see what they are going to do!”  About ten minutes later, all of the DJ’s questions were answered when two teams of company dancers took over the dance floor for a pop music dance off. “I’m a captain tonight,” boasted one of the star dancers, Amar Ramasar. “We’re going to lift it up and do something different!”

Moments later, Ramasar’s team ended their performance in underwear to the roar of Gyllenhaal and friends. “Now it’s your turn!” exclaimed D’Cruz after the pros left their sweat on the dance floor. But the recent Oscar nominee had to commute to Brooklyn and call it a night.
CHLOE ARONSON