There are few more reliable signs that spring has arrived in New York than the annual return of the YoungArts Gala to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur, where members of the cultural, creative and philanthropic elite come together to celebrate the next generation of American artists in a celebration designed, once again, by Raul Avila, the maestro behind the Met Gala and its various major awards shows. Party chairs Sarah Arison and Thomas Wilhelm, Gillian Hirst, Mitchie and Charles Jegarjianand Sandra and Tony Tamer Welcoming nearly 300 attendees this year, it began, as usual, with an elegant cocktail party that turned into a celebration of emerging talent in the worlds of dance, music and song, ultimately raising more than $1 million to support YoungArts’ mission.
This year’s honorary co-chairs, Leading Ballerina Misty Copeland And the artist Glenn Ligongave the event a clear creative force, while the award-winning Broadway artist (and YoungArts graduate) Blaine Alden Krause She kept the evening going with impeccable grace. The performances were directed by a choreographer Caleb Teicherhimself the winner of the 2011 YoungArts Prize in Dance. But the emotional center of the evening was Arison’s award presentation to the Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomeiwas honored for her dynamic career that has spanned stage and screen and for her ongoing mentorship of YoungArts talent.
The guest list, as always, feels like a cross-section of everything that makes New York’s cultural ecosystem worth celebrating. From the world of dance, there was the same legend, Mikhail BaryshnikovWith a dancer and writer Lisa ReinhartArtistic Director of American Ballet Theatre Susan JaffeDancer and producer Daniel Simkin, Desmond Richardson Contemporary Ballet Skin, MacArthur Fellow Ralph LemonTony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones and award-winning choreographer Princess Grace Roderick George. Oscar nominated actress Rosie Perez She brought her own brand of Brooklyn charm, while music luminaries included Grammy Award-winning violinist Jennifer Kohpianist and composer Conrad TaoMezzo-soprano Dennis Graves And the Tony nominees Danielle Watts and Michael McIlroy.
The art world was well represented as well, with the director of the Brooklyn Museum Anne PasternakDirector of MoMA PS1 Connie ButlerDirector of High Line Art and Curator of the Venice Biennale Cecilia AlemanyExecutive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation Simon CastetsTechnical Director, Tribe Bates included And the Aspen Art Museum Nicola Lees In attendance. Art collectors were also spotted Jimmy and Robert Soros Celebrity sponsor Komal ShahAnd of course, there were many, many artists in the room, including… Jan Shen, Camille Henrot, Jonah Freeman, Cos, Sherry Hovsepian, Zoe Buckman, Taryn Simon, Deborah Willis, Nikolai and Simon Haas, Eddie Martinez, Sam Muir, Lee Quinones, Zoe Buckman and Eric Hayes.
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Reinhart
Michi Jegarjian and Zoe Bookman
Caleb Teicher, Sarah Arison, Misty Copeland, and Glenn Ligon
Misty Copeland and Glenn Ligon
Jimmy Singer Soros and Robert Soros
Jennifer Koh, Barbara Censorin, and Clive Chang
Mark Tallman
Jan Shin, Simon Haas, Nikolai Haas, Dee Dee Sides
Cecilia Alemany, Komal Shah, Simon Castets and Stuart Comer
Connie Butler and Camille Henrot
Shamil Bates, Sarah Arison, and Roderick George
Sarah Harrelson and Sherri Hovsepian
Gillian Hirst
Sam Moyer and Eddie Martinez
Rosie Perez and Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS
Max Hollin, Wes Gordon, Anne Pasternak, and Paul Arnhold
Foleke Ologunya, Eddie Martinez, Sam Muir, and Dave Jay
More at the parties