6.18.12: Simple Pleasures | New York Social Diary

Simple Pleasures

Bill Cunningham arrives at the book party for Cornelia Guest’s Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining.

Last Wednesday night John Demsey threw a big book party for his friend Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining, at his Upper East Side townhouse.

Cornelia Guest and John Demsey

Jennifer Creel, George Farias, Caroline Berthet

Jennifer Creel, George Farias, and Caroline Berthet

Mark Badgley, Eva Amurri Martino, James Mischka

Mark Badgley, Eva Amurri Martino, and James Mischka

Deeda Blair

Libby Parker

Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Todd Romano

Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia and Todd Romano

Phillip Bloch and Anne Vincent

Carolina Herrera and Cornelia Guest

Hunt Slonem, Liliana Cavendish, R. Couri Hay

Hunt Slonem, Liliana Cavendish, and R. Couri Hay

Christopher Mason

Hamish Bowles

Leonard Lauder and Bobbi Brown

Jason Binn and Aileen Mehle

Alina Cho and Dennis Basso

Lara and Harry Slatkin

Mario Buatta and Iris Apfel

The School of American Ballet held its Workshop Performance Benefit on Tuesday, June 5th at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center. The pre-performance reception began at 5:30PM, and the performance started at 7PM.

The School of American Ballet’s annual performances give audiences a special opportunity to see the School’s gifted advanced students onstage before they dance professionally with the New York City Ballet and companies across the U.S. and abroad.

This year’s Workshop featured Peter Martins’ Les Petits Riens, Sean Lavery’s Twinkliana, and George Balanchine’s Cortѐge Hongrois.

Albert Bellas (SAB Chairman Emeritus), Kay Mazzo (SAB Co-Chairman of Faculty), Marlene Hess Zirin and James Zirin

The 2012 Workshop Performance Benefit raised over $700,000 to support student scholarships and other important needs of the school, including faculty salaries and facilities upkeep. SAB is the official academy of New York City Ballet.

Dinner Chairs were Stuart H. Colman, Sasha Galantic, Elizabeth McCreery, Stacey C. Morse and Suzanne Allen Redpath.

Guests included SAB artistic director Peter Martins and Darci Kistler, Co-chairman of Faculty Kay Mazzo and Albert Bellas, Julia Koch, Ari and Coco Kopelman, Jill and Harry Kargman, Grace Glueck, Gillian Miniter, Michelle Miller and Marc Morial, Amsale Aberra, Laura and William Zeckendorf, Jean Shafiroff, Lisa Maria Falcone, Marie Nugent-Head, Marlene Hess, Kristin Clark, Duane Hampton; SAB alumni and current New York City Ballet dancers Amar Ramasar, Megan Fairchild, Andrew Veyette, Ashley Bouder, Sterling Hyltin. Taylor Stanley and Jon Stafford; SAB faculty members Jock Soto, Suki Schorer, Susan Pilarre, and Katrina Killian; SAB and NYCB alumni Damian Woetzel, Nichol Hlinka, Lourdes Lopez and Kyra Nichols.

Marjorie Van Dercook (SAB Executive Director) and Peter Martins (SAB Artistic Director and Chairman of Faculty)

Harrison Coll, Olivia Boisson, and Craig Wasserman (SAB Advanced Students)

The School of American Ballet, founded by legendary choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein in 1934, is the premier ballet academy in the United States. Approximately 450 boys and girls ranging in age from six to nineteen attend classes during the Winter Term at SAB, which is both a constituent of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the official school of New York City Ballet. Each year, 20 SAB students on average sign professional contracts with dance companies around the United States and abroad. Not only do SAB alumni comprise over 95 percent of New York City Ballet, but dancers trained at the School also currently appear on the rosters of over 60 U.S. and more than a dozen international companies.

SAB Board Members Suzy Redpath, Stacey Morse, and Liz McCreery

Isabelle de Gaspe Beaubien, John Galantic, and Sasha Galantic

George Skouras and Lourdes Lopez

Hal Witt and Olivia Flatto

Kedakai and James Lipton

Sylvester Miniter, Gillian Miniter, and Brad Comisar

Marie Nugent-Head and Jim Marlas

Jean Shafiroff

Olivia Mackinnon, Ghaleb Kayali, Brianna Abruzzo, and Misa Kasamatsu (SAB Advanced Students)

Suzanne and Bob Wright, Co-Founders of Autism Speaks, were the guests of honor at the 2012 “I Have A Dream” Foundation (IHDF) Spring Gala which took place Tuesday, June 5th at 583 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The Wrights were selected as this year’s recipients of the Eugene M. Lang Lifetime Achievement Award because of their extraordinarily successful educational programs designed to maximize the potential of each and every child. Sue Herera, Co-Anchor of Power Lunch, CNBC and Carlos Watson, Managing Director and former CNN and MSNBC Anchor hosted the celebration.

Some of the nation’s most influential education advocates were on hand to pay homage to the Wrights, including IHDF Founder Eugene Lang; Kevin Navayne, film and television actor and former Ralph Lauren model with a recurring role in “CSI: NY ” as Detective Ray Jackson; Sue Herera; Carlos Watson; Sharon Bush; Tim Shriver; Warren Eisenberg; Ian Gerard; Paula Froelich; Bevy Smith; Nicole Young; Veronica de la Cruz; Wendy Diamond; and over 300 others.

Carlos Watson and Sue Herera

Additional honorees at the Gala were IHDF alumna Teshana D. Henderson, L.C.S.W., an alumna of the “I Have A Dream” Los Angeles 3 Project. She will receive the “Spirit of the Dream” Award. Teshana is currently pursuing her doctorate degree at NOVA Southeastern University (Tidewater Campus) in Organizational Leadership and Human Services Administration; and with her husband, Dr. Ellis O. Henderson, established NDUTIME Youth and Family Services, Inc. in 2004, a non-profit social services servant/leadership agency that provides an array of mental health services to clients, ages 3 and above.

Performances during the evening were by Stephanie Andujar (“Rita” in the Oscar-nominated film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire), who was recognized with the prestigious 2010 Spirit of the Dream Award; KIPP Infinity Stage Ensemble; and Democracy Prep Scholars.

Eugene Lang with Dreamers and Alumni

Honorary Chairs for the IHAD Spring Gala were Sharon Bush; The Honorable Christopher Coons; Ian Gerard; The Honorable Frank L. Lautenberg; Arthur Levine; The Honorable Margaret Spellings; and Stuart Udell.

The "I Have A Dream" Foundation empowers children in low-income communities to achieve higher education and fulfill their leadership potential by providing them with guaranteed tuition support and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to gain entry to higher education and succeed in college and beyond. By helping Dreamers gain access to college, “I Have A Dream” is placing these students on a different academic and life trajectory, while having a broader impact on the students' families and the generations that follow.

Kevin Navayne and Laura Hajek

Veronica De la Cruz

Rajiv Srinivasan, Mike Burns, Kathryn McKevitt, and Archie Elam

Josephine Ventress, Brittany Rivera, and Gamaliel Arroyo

Fran Terwilliger wth Chris and Marriann Comlon

Fred Reede and Gonca Kartal

Chris and Anna Minnetian with Daniel and Sue Herera

Katy Garrison, Teshana Henderson, and Carol McGuire

Lee and Don Wortzel with Jackie Wellen

Judi Ventress, Laurenz Adderley, and Natalie Corujo

Or-lee Fromm, Iris Chen, and Tori McRoberts

The Wrights: Chris, Sandi, Suzanne, and Bob

Johnny Rivera and Sharon Bush

Ron Terwilliger

Mark Fornasiero, Nicole Fornasiero, Ember Shmitt, Dan Shmitt, Ray Fornasiero, Sergio Fornasiero, and Janice Weiskopf

Suzanne Wright

Anna and Johan Bager

Stephanie Andujar

KIPP Infinity Stage Ensemble

Democracy Prep Scholars

Teshana D. Henderson, LCSW

Sold out crowds packed Guastavino’s for Solar One Green Energy, Arts and Education Center’s annual “Revelry by the River." Chairs for the evening were Jen Bawden, H. Hartley du Pont, Margo M. Langenberg, Jean Shafiroff. Junior Chairs were Junior Chair’s, Katie Corrigan, Maggie DeFilippo, August Irenee du Pont, and Nicole Rhodes.

Jen Bawden presented Jigar Shah with the Sustainability Achievement Award. Jigar Shah, an entrepreneur and visionary committed to leveraging the next economy, which he has recognized as The Impact Economy™,noted that a global “Impact Economy” is one in which mainstream investors team up with corporations, entrepreneurs, and governments to solve the big environmental and social problems of our time while generating compelling financial returns.

Chairs Jean Shafiroff, Margo Langenberg, Jigar Shah, Jen Bawden, and Hartley duPont

Rick Cherry, Solar One Board Chair presented the Carbon War Room with the Sustainability Achievement Award. The Carbon War Room, an independent non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson, harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to unlock market-driven solutions to climate change. It brings together entrepreneurs, business leaders, policy experts, researchers, and thought leaders to unlock market-driven solutions.

Solar One Green Energy, Arts and Education Center, represents a pioneering concept in New York City, providing visitors and residents with public programs about energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building and urban ecology. It is located on the East River between 23rd and 18th Streets in Stuyvesant Cove Park. Funds raised will support Solar One’s award winning environmental programs about public awareness, energy efficiency and conservation as well as educational study in the Park. NYC Department of Education and Solar One recently launched the Green Design Lab, a sustainability and environmental K-12 educational program in 30 New York City public schools. The students focus on greening their school building with hands on projects such as rooftop gardens, building performance and energy efficiency, air quality, waste conservation, schoolyard habitats and non-toxic cleaners
www.solar1.org