"Smoking Hot"
Principal Dancer Roberto Bolle Draws Rave Reviews at ABT's Spring Gala
The American Ballet Theatre held its spring gala last night, and even though First Lady Michelle Obama didn't drop by the Met as she did last year, plenty of leading ladies came to help the ballet company celebrate its 70th anniversary. Following remarks by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and Blaine Trump, the curtain went up on a two-hour program that offered a preview of coming months, including selections from Swan Lake and Giselle and an extra-generous dose of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty.
A passionate, earthbound pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias, set to music by Chopin and featuring Bruce Weber favorite Roberto Bolle, got Veronica Webb's heart thumping. "Smoking hot," she concluded on her way into the dinner tent. There, ballerinas Veronika Part and Julie Kent were joined by the likes of Elettra Wiedemann (in Toni Maticevski) and Alexandra Kerry (in Ralph Lauren). Taking in the scene, Christian Cota explained why, of the many swans he dresses for black-tie evenings, dancers are often the hardest: "I'm always pushing them to wear higher heels, but they don't like them. So hems are always an issue." The Mexican-born designer conceded he understands where they're coming from, though. "They have to take care of their feet. If they fall and break an ankle, that wouldn't be good," he said. Especially if it happened on a red carpet.
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