A Ballet Bash

It was all tu-tu much when social gridlock reigned at the venerable Lobero when the State Street Ballet closed its season with a gala performance featuring highlights from the company’s repertoire from the past 27 years. The glittering event also paid tribute to philanthropic patrons Sara Miller McCune, Carrie Towbes, Margo Cohen-Feinberg, and Tim Mikel, while also honoring the great legacies of the late Leni Fe Bland and Michael Towbes, founder of Montecito Bank & Trust.

After a champagne fueled reception on the Lovelace Esplanade with musical accompaniment by classical guitarist Chris Fossek, the entertaining show featured New York choreographer William Soleau’s “Appalachian Spring,” the pas de deux from founder Rodney Gustafson’s Romeo and Juliet, the intricate movements and athletics of (con)version by Kassandra Taylor-Newberry, the upbeat music of the late bandleader Lawrence Welk in Laurie Eisenhower’s vivacious Bubbles, and the classical elegance of the pas de deux from Don Quixote, which I last saw performed by the Royal Ballet at London’s Covent Garden.

After the show, which was co-chaired by Leila Drake and Cecily MacDougall, the company hosted a 170-guest reception behind the theater with guests including Dan and Meg Burnham, Bob and Alex Nourse, Kathryn Martin, Marylove Thralls, Barbara Burger, symphony maestro Nir Kabaretti, George Konstantinow, and Stefan and Christine Resenfeld.