Ballet San Jose received $125,000 award from the net proceeds of the BLUE SUEDE SHOES GALA, presented by Ballet San Jose Council in the Imperial Ballroom of the Fairmont San Jose. Over 400 guests enjoyed dinner and dancing to Wayne Foster Entertainment of Beverly Hills.
The 30-member group of musicians, singers and dancers wowed the crowd for a second year in a row. Elvis also made an appearance when impersonator Chris MacDonald took the stage to bring back some of the Golden Goodies of Presley's era.
Dinner included Dungeness Crab and Lobster Tower, Roquefort Crusted Filet Mignon, Vegetarian Wellington, Cauliflower Potato Tart, Port Wine Shallot Sauce, and English Trifle or Chocolate Zucatto with Heath Bar Chips for dessert. Ramon Moreno, Peter Hershey and Preston Dugger presented a performance of a scene from Dennis Nahat's Blue Suede Shoes.
A special award of a Tiffany crystal bowl was presented to company dancer Raymond Rodriguez for his 25 years of illustrious service to Ballet San Jose. Rodriguez currently continues to perform with BSJ and also serves as Regisseur, restaging and rehearsing parts of the company's repertoire.
Beshoff MotorCars was the Event Sponsor for the 5th year in a row and was joined this year by Bank of America and media sponsor, San Jose Magazine.
Gala Event Chairs were Sydene Kober and Valerie Kohl. Auction Chairs were Marie LoPresto and Barbara Oats. Committee Chairs included Sandi Conniff, Melanie Doerner, Cathy Gillum, Debbie Martin, Rita Sillan, Anita Del Grande, Terry Foster, Jean Hargrove, Joanne Meninger and Patty Wahli.
This year the event held live and silent auctions, but also had oversized "Wish List"Â boards carried through the dinning hall by members of the Ballet San Jose SCHOOL. Students ages 8 to 18 presented their "wishes"Â to patrons who were encouraged to sign their names next to items they would agree to purchase for the school, rehearsal halls, and administrative offices. The "Wish Lists"Â raised $12,400 in just over 20 minutes. Highest bids included $1,000 each for new ballet barres (2) and Master Class instructor payrolls (2). Other popular items included pointe shoes for Snowflake dancers (in THE NUTCRACKER), pyrotechnics, orchestra underwriting, and school scholarships.
Another new event this year was the Private Wine Cellar auction table which raised over $8,600 with individual bids reaching up to $1,400 for a six bottle Silver Oak Merlot Vertical 1992, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97. Also new this year was sponsorship levels and program advertising, which together raised over $85,000.
The Live Auction raised $60,000 with the most expensive items bid at $7,100 for a Burmuda travel package and a Texas Hold "Em Party which sold twice for $4,000 each. The highest priced "Silent"Â auction items were a one-week stay in a house in Tahoe for $2,035, a 5-night stay at the luxurious Fairmont Hotel Monte Carlo event for $2,188, Laser Eye Surgery for $1,500, a Tumason Portrait for $1,194, and a signed Lance Armstrong Jersey for $1,059.
Event Sponsors were Beshoff MotorCars and Bank of America. Media Sponsor was San Jose Magazine. Gala Underwriters were Anita & Kevan Del Grande, and Karen & Walter Loewenstern. Other sponsors included The Castle Group, Heritage Bank of Commerce, Hunter Laboratories, and Sandi & Richard Conniff.
Ballet San Jose Council is a non-profit auxiliary created to ensure the continued vitality of Ballet San Jose by providing fundraising support, cultivating an interest in dance as a cultural resource, and promoting dance education. Additionally, the Council oversees a performance boutique for each major ballet program, and awards a scholarship to one Ballet School student annually at the Betts Cartwright Scholarship Event.
In the last 20 years, the Council has raised over $2 million dollars in support of Ballet San Jose. -- www.balletsanjose.org
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