Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's opening night benefit
Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder
Christopher and Janice Williams
Sharon Luckman

This past Wednesday night, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater held their opening night benefit with that king of swat (and swoon) Derek Jeter as honorary chairman.

The dance company opened their annual season with a performance at City Center, after which guests went over to the Imperial Ballroom at the Sheraton New York for dinner and dancing.

The one-night-only Gala performance featured the world premiere of Love Stories, a new ballet choreographed by Judith Jamison in collaboration with Rennie Harris and Robert Battle set to the music of Stevie Wonder. The program also included Alvin Ailey’s timeless masterpiece Revelations, performed with live music.

Gala co-chairs were Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer, Addie and Tom Jones, Patricia and Philip Laskawy, Lizabeth and Frank Newman, and Joan and Sandy Weill.

The opening night performance was underwritten by Morgan Stanley. Gala sponsors were Citigroup, Ernst & Young, Addie and Tom Jones, The Lizabeth and Frank Newman Charitable Foundation and Tishman Speyer Properties.

In the crowd: Carmen De Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder, Bruce Gordon, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Terry Lundgren, Jeanne and Nicolas Rohatyn, Annaliese Soros, Peter Jennings, Christopher and Janice Williams, Peter Walker, Elizabeth and Arthur Mirante II, and Susan and David Greenberg. And the dancers: Briana Reed, Linda Celeste Sims, Matthew Rushing, Renee Robinson, Clifton Brown Linda Denise Fisher Harrell, Dwana Smallwood, Asha Thomas, and Guillermo Asca.

Marion and Lawrence Lenihan
Patricia and Phi Laskawy
Terry Lundgren and Tina Stephan
Liz and Frank Newman
Peter Jennings, Jesse Jackson, and Kayce Freed
Judith Jamison, Sandy and Joan Weill, and Reverend Jesse Jackson
Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer
Revelations

Photographs by Patrick McMullan/Pmc & Paul Kolnick



Lenox Hill Neighborhood House's 17th annual Holiday Bazaar
L. to r.: April Gow and Audrey Gruss; Barbara Cates, Albert Hadley, and Helen O'Hagan; Eva Dillon and Mireya D'Angelo.

They held the 17th annual Holiday Bazaar at Sotheby’s for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House a couple of weeks ago running from Wednesday through Saturday. The celebration opened with a Preview Party for 500 New Yorkers, followed by the three festive shopping days offering something for everyone. They bid on the exclusive Travel In Style items created by Scalamandre’s luxurious fabrics by designers, including, Mario Buatta, Jackson Siegel Aaron, Richard Mishaan, Albert Capraro, Gael De Brousse, John Gachot for David Easton, Alison Spear, Geoffrey Bradfield, Harry Heissmann for Albert Hadley, Joey Horton, Sheila Camera Kotur, Helena Lehane, Stewart Manger, Miles Redd, Todd Romano, Leigh Rutherfurd Talamo, Hadley Scully, Philip Gorrivan, Travels with Tiger by Cece Cord as well as other items, including a $7,800 diamond, ruby and sapphire brooch from Harry Winston, a Frank Gehry Cross Check Chair from Knoll, Inc., in the silent auction.

Andrea Donahue and Erin Donahue

Honorary Chairs were John Rosselli, Julia Wallace and Nancy Wekselbaum. Co-chairs were Eva Dillon and Mireya D’Angelo. Underwriting chair was Nancy Baker. Alex Donner provided entertainment for the Preview Party and catering was by Swifty’s.

Boulevard of Shops included: Balu Designs by Jane Veronis, Bookhampton, Valentina & Co. (childrens clothes), Empress, Duchess & Tart, Felice Dee Eyewear, David Goodman Furs, Indo-Chic, Janis Aldridge Inc., J. Milano New York, LuLi, Quadrille, Ruzzetti & Gow, Little Worth Avenue Collection, Valentin Magro, Walker Antiques

Leadership &Committees included: Jonathan Gargiulo, Renée and Carl Landegger, Bunny Williams, Judith Zabar, Andrea Donahue, Nandine Dub, Audrey Gruss, Victoria Lindgren, Fernanda Kellogg, Pauline Metcalf, Kathy and Billy Rayner, Felix and Elizabeth, Rohatyn, CBS’S Margery Baker-Riker, Tobie Roosevelt, Margot Slater, Mary Van Pelt, Joyce Moss.

Chairman of the board of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House is Sydney Shuman, President, Diana Quasha and Executive Director, Warren Scharf.
Albert Capraro
Blakley Griggs and Trey Griggs
Lisa Gorrivan and Phillip Gorrivan
Staff at rest: Niki Gerard, Nadine Dub, and Judith Steers
Bunny Williams, John Rosselli, and Any Newhall
Iffie Aitkenhead and Sheila Kotur
Michael Kaye and Cece Cord
L. to r.: Diana Quasha; Elizabeth Fondaras, Dr. Geoffrey Broderick, and Anne Washburn; Melissa Berkelhammer and Phillip Hillier.
Blakley Driggs, Lara Glazier, and Chelsea Staniar
John, Skye, and Jan van Merkensteijn
Melanie Holland, Leslie Heaney, and Lauren Buchgate
Renee Landegger, Nancy Baker, and Olivia Cox-Fill
Susan Burns, Scott Salvator, and Wiggie Bitter
Tobie Roosevelt and Nancy Baker

Photographs by Joe Schildhorn/PMc



Magic Created at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s First “Benefit for the Brain”
Bill Robertson and Father Tom Hartman
Doug and Monique Morris
Dr. Eduardo Mestre with his wife Gillian
John Sebastian and the J-Band played to a packed Grace Auditorium on October 30, 2004 at the first “Benefit for the Brain” to raise funds for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

The event honored Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman, founder of The Thomas Hartman Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which will provide some funding for research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Edward Travaglianti and Kathy DiMaio co-chaired the event, which was underwritten by William S. Robertson and the Banbury Fund.
:John Sebastian (center, with banjo) and the J-Band (l. to r.) Mike Merit, Paul Rishell, Annie Raines, James Vivino, and James Wormworth
The dinner tasting featured Barney’s Restaurant (Locust Valley); Coles House (Glen Cove); Coolfish (Syosset); Fiddleheads (Oyster Bay); Indigo American Grille (Huntington); The Main Ingredient (Locust Valley); Michele Brown Baking (Glen Cove); On 3 (Glen Head); Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs (New York, the Hamptons and Locust Valley) and Sbarro. A champagne dessert reception followed the concert.
Kathy DiMaio and Dill Ayers
Rita and Frank Castagna with Sandy and Howard Tytel
Dr. Bruce Stillman with Jamie and David Deming
Vicki and Anthony Sbarro with Dill Ayers (center)
Dr. Jonathan Sebat and Dr. Lilia Iakoucheva with Cathy and Doug Soref and their son Colton
Dr. Cynthia McKay with Dr. James Watson and his wife Liz



NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical College & The Pediatric Support Committee’s 16th annual Light Up A Life
Charlotte Ford and her granddaughters Charlotte and Callie
Carly Rieger
Victoria Lindgren and Louisa Lindgren
Oh what a beautiful morning! Almost 1,000 adorable costumed children with their parents and grandparents descended on the amazing Toys “R” Us store in Times Square early in the morning for the Sixteenth Annual “Light Up A Life” benefit to support the Department of Pediatrics of the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. It was a riot of joy and laughter with The Yale Whiffenpoofs serenading, Magic Al Garber, John Fogarty, Josh Weiner, Winnie The Pooh, Barbie, Pokémon, Strawberry Shortcake, Princess Leah, Darth Vader and many of the other Star Wars characters, The Big Apple “Circus to Go,” and The NY Lyric Circus.

The hard working event chair Heather J. Sargent was there with her family. The Founding Chair, Kathleen Burns and Katie Brown, who along with Deborah Roberts and Al Roker, was an Honorary Chair had a good time as well.
Heather Sargent and her son Crawford Sargent
The Committee of enthusiastic and energetic volunteers included Eva Dillon, Andrea Donahue, Victoria Lindgren, Andrea Lustig, Mati Buccini, Rhonda Erb, Lydia Gustin, Cass Adelman, Debby Blankman, Jeannie Conway, Saskia Evans, Vicki Foley, Julie Inglis, Susan Johnson, Betsey Pick, Nancy Sambuco, Lizabeth Sant’Angelo, Alexandra Scott and Catherine Shepard.

Charlotte Ford, there with her granddaughters: Charlotte and Callie, of the Grandparents Committee, Herbert Pardes, MD, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, and Gerald McLaughlin, Head of the Department of Pediatrics were among the heroes who got up early to lend their support as well.

The family fun included delicious food prepared by Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs rides on the 60-foot indoor Ferris wheel, face painting, hair braiding, balloon artists and much more at the most remarkable toy store in the world.

The event raised $164,000 to benefit the hospital’s youngest and most vulnerable patients, through four select programs in the Department of Pediatrics to benefit from the successful fundraising of this year’s Light Up A Life:

• The Children’s Emergency Medical Fund ensures the finest medical care is provided for young patients, regardless of their families’ ability to pay.

• The Clown Care Program brings clowns to the Hospital and helps young patients look beyond the immediate fear and anxiety of a hospital stay through joy and laughter.

• The Division of Child Protection provides expert evaluation of children suspected to be abused or neglected, works closely with the social service, judicial, and law enforcement systems, and educates the public about issues related to the safety of children.

• The Pediatric Emergency Department is an area designed to provide a calm and comforting environment to our small patients and their families. The Pediatric ED is fully equipped with state-of-the art technology and is dedicated to the care of children.
Lady Butterfly
Among the smiling guests were Miss World, Nancy Randall; Eugenie Niven; Sarah Foote; Lily Dillon; Robert, Louisa and Peter Lindgren; Erin Donahue; Brenda Johnson with her grandchildren: Crawford and Skyler Sargent; Christopher and Claudina Buccini; Cricket, India and Manzie Burns; Barbara Loughlin; Alexander and Andrew Erb; George and Eamon Rush; Alice Bosveld and Luccano; Suresh Kandiah; Brooke, Carl and Jack Rieger; Caroline Dobbs; Rowanda Shepard; David and Isabelle Cody; Marie Plaissay; Hopie Dejous; Ed O'Connell, Joe Schonberger; Hadley, Brooke, Nick and Jackie Hoffman; Joe Schonberger; Ed O'Connell; John, Imogen, Anneka, and Katharina Levin; Patricia Meade and Nino Balsano reporting for Kids Day; Dr. Susan Krysiewicz; Aubrienne Krysiewicz-Bell; Sandy McManus; Charley Mullaney; Kevin Dornan; Roxanne Winchell; Toni Goodale; Phyllis Cappello; John Grimaldi; Polly Van Raalt; and Jamie Conniff, Evan Coughenour, Alex Maldonado, Matty Fasano, Lyle Maltz, Andy Sandberg, Jeff Barrett, James Huerta, John Mission, Robby Schrum, Tom Dolan, Dan Geballe, Eric Hundman, Brian Kendig of the Whiffenpoofs.

All the kids went home with huge overflowing goodie bags filled with Mega Blocks, Rub a Dub –a friend for the tub, a multi-colored mini-umbrella, wipe-out electronic marbles. a tongue tape strip spitter, a Hello Kitty pay phone, a Pokemon stamper, chap sticks, an ARCHIE comic book, a copy of Real Simple magazine and more.
Eugenie Niven and Hopie Dejous
Herbert Pardes, Heather Sargent, and Gerald Loughlin
L. to r.: Dr. Gerald Loughlin and Kathy Burns; Lily and Eva Dillon; Dr. Gerald and Barbara Loughlin.
The Whiffenpoofs
Sandy McManus, Erin Donahue, and Andrea Donahue

Photographs by Tara Todras-Whitehill/PMc



New York City Opera's world premiere production of Haroun and the Sea of Stories
The cast and creative team of City Opera's world premiere production of Charles Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Mary Sharp Cronson, one of our city's great art philanthropists, was the driving force behind New York City Opera's world premiere production of Haroun and the Sea of Stories based on the novel by Salman Rushdie with a score by Pulitzer prize winner Charles Wuorinen.

Mrs. Cronson hosted an intimate buffet supper following the performance that was attended by Salman Rushdie and his wife Lakshmi, and his son Zafaar Haroun Rushdie. Also in attendance: Charles Wuorinen, City Opera General and Artistic Director Paul Kellogg, City Opera chairman Susan Baker and her husband Michael Lynch, Hon. and Mrs. Leon Polsky, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Saul, Ashton Hawkins and Johnny Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Viscusi.
Paul Kellogg, Zafar Rushdie, Lakshmi Rushdie, and Salman Rushdie
Mary Sharp Cronson, Paul Kellogg, and Susan Baker
Charles Wuorinen and Norman Peck
Mary Sharp Cronson, Salman Rusdhie, and Susan Baker


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