On Saturday, February 6, 2010, Canada's National Ballet School
hosted its annual signature fundraising gala. This year, we celebrated with a theme of Fête d'Or or "gold celebration" in keeping
with the momentous occasion of our 50th anniversary year. As the traditional gift on a 50th anniversary is gold, we created a golden evening
of festivities to mark this milestone in NBS' history.
Our 800+ guest list consisted of Toronto's
most influential taste-leaders who, in keeping with the theme of
the celebration, gathered to honour Joan and Jerry Lozinski,
two dedicated philanthropists who play a vital role in helping
to ensure the future of many leading arts institutions including
Canada's National Ballet School. We also honoured
the leadership, work and vision of NBS' Artistic Director and
Co-CEO, Mavis Staines.
Patrons of Fête d'Or joined the glamour of a party
experience that was textured, original and fun set against the
elegant backdrop of The Fairmont Royal York. Favourite songs were mixed with a contemporary beat,
while sipping on signature martinis, enjoying an exquisite culinary experience,
and witnessing an inspiring repertoire of dance performances that
showcase the exceptional talent of NBS students. After dinner,
patrons raised their paddles high
to bid on some exciting Live Auction items and experiences,
and then danced the night away! It was one amazing night!
Jump to:
RAFFLE: Winners of Tiffany & Co.!
Grand Prize
Tiffany "X" bracelet in 18 karat gold with round brilliant cut diamonds set in platinum weighing 2.95 carats total weight.
Designed by Jean Schlumberger.
Value: $22,500 Winner: Susan Luft
Second Prize
Tiffany "Sixteen Stone Ring" in 18 karat gold with round brilliant cut diamonds set in platinum weighing 1.18 carats total weight.
Designed by Jean Schlumberger.
Value: $7,900 Winner: Marc Heinke
AUCTIONS
Lot #1: 88 Fine Keys with a Personal Touch
Value: $24,000
Generously donated by: Yamaha, The Royal Conservatory of Music
Welcome a world of music into your home! This Yamaha grand piano provides the best of world-class sound and an astonishing range of new, technological capabilities to offer you the ultimate in home entertainment. Using its remote control, you can listen to live music from the comfort of your own living room, via the Internet. You can listen to your favourite songs from your personal CD library, or replay recordings of your own piano triumphs! The piano comes with built-in speakers and exclusive Yamaha content, allowing you to start playing and listening right away without a complicated set-up process.
But a beautiful piano is only half a gift if you don't know how to play it. So we include a private piano lesson given by Dr. Peter Simon, President of The Royal Conservatory of Music. Dr. Simon received a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 1983 from the University of Michigan while studying with Leon Fleisher. He subsequently divided his time between performing, teaching at the University of Western Ontario and overseeing the Artistic Direction of Preview Concerts in Toronto. He has served as the President of The Royal Conservatory since 1991.
With Dr. Simon's gift of teaching and the sweet sounds of the Yamaha piano, you'll be playing concertos in no time!
Lot #2: Sweet Dreams: At Home and Away
Value: $6,800
Generously donated by: Audi, Airstream Travel, John Paul & Co., Sony Corporation
Wrap yourself in luxury for a weekend away or a lifetime at home with this sophisticated package. You won't just drive the 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet, you'll cruise in it to picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake to spend two nights at The Cottage Bed and Breakfast. This gorgeous getaway is nestled within grounds containing a garden, gazebo and pond. Feast on a sumptuous, homemade breakfast and spend your day appreciating the beauty of this special region of Ontario. Stroll back through history and enjoy world class theatre, fine dining, shopping, local estate wineries, farm markets and historical sites.
Then get ready to dress up your home with a set of Queen size Jacquard bordered, Fendi sheets. Featuring 1300 thread count and made from Egyptian cotton, these sheets encapsulate the sophisticated glamour that is Fendi. The Italian luxury house of fashion and design opened its doors in 1925 and was immediately acclaimed for the fine quality of its products. Since then, Fendi's range has expanded to include its Casa Collection, which embraces an on-going exploration of new creative fields in line with the changing flow of contemporary living.
When nestled in the lap of luxury of your Fendi sheets, you can spend a relaxing evening reading the latest newspapers, blogs or books on your brand new Sony Reader! Thanks to this top-of-the-line technology, you never need worry about ink on your sheets again! The Reader provides display with paper-like clarity and a special screen allowing the Reader to be easily read in almost any light, including direct sun. With access to over one million public domain books from Google books, the ability to borrow e-books from libraries and to download periodicals like The New York Times, the Reader encapsulates all your paper functions in one neat package. Featuring a built-in dictionary function and the ability to read PDFs, word documents, play MP3 files and to display RSS feeds, websites and jpegs, the Reader brings the outside world into the comfort of your own bed.
Lot #3: Life is an Art Gallery
Value: $16,000
Generously donated by: Malcolm Rains
Painting by Malcolm Rains entitled "Pontikos, 2010". It measures 28" x 42" unframed, Oil on canvas. Catalogue from previous exhibition is included.
Add to, or begin your art collection with a contemporary masterpiece from one of Canada's finest artists. Malcolm Rains initially studied architecture and sculpture before determining painting as a means of exploring subtle expressions of volume. Rains subjects are minimal: horizons of lakes and fruit, flowers or crumpled sheets of white paper floating on a dark background.
Malcolm Rains takes his viewers on complex journeys in the contemporary still-life he creates. They are Zen-like excursions that explore the relationships of how light reflects through a crumbled paper against a dark background. They are studies in order and chaos.
Malcolm Rains was born in England and has lived in Canada since 1955. Rains' work is held in many public and private collections around the world. Museum exhibitions include Cracks in the Modern at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (1994), Linear Variables at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1981) and the Agnes Etherington Arts.
Malcolm Rains is represented by the Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto.
Lot #4: In, Out and About in the Creative City
Value: $7,000
Generously donated by:
Luminato, TIFF, à la Carte Kitchen Inc., Avalon Actuarial, Parterre Flowers
This package is the perfect option for the culture vulture and gourmand alike. You'll be the talk of the town with four tickets to a Luminato: Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity performance. This ten-day long festival is a celebration of the Arts, where Toronto's stages, streets, and public spaces infuse with theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, film, literature, visual art and design. Luminato embraces artistic collaboration, prides itself on widely accessible events and embraces Toronto's cultural diversity. Past events have included such artists as Cirque de Soleil, Robert LePage, the National Theatre of Scotland, Nederlands Dans Theater and more.
Your cultural experience continues with two tickets to a Gala Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, North America's premiere film festival. Now in its 34th year, TIFF has grown to be the Festival that premieres big hits and begins the race for Oscar nominations and buzz. Notable films that have had their North American or Global premiere at TIFF include The Big Chill, American Beauty, Husbands & Wives, Crash, and Slumdog Millionaire.
A final treat for the culturati amongst your group, you will receive six tickets to Canada's National Ballet School's annual performance event, Spring Showcase.
How to get from dinner to your TIFF or Luminato experience? A limousine, of course! Experience the best of a luxury vehicle with a professional chauffeur attending to your every need. A limousine provides more than a car ride, it is an experience in pampering with the best in style, comfort and service.
Before heading off to experience these cultural offerings, you can look forward to a catered dinner for six in your home, provided by à la Carte Kitchen. One of the premiere event caterers in Toronto, à la Carte combines top quality, fresh ingredients with creativity and well-honed culinary expertise. They've served the Queen of England, Pope John Paul II, Brad Pitt and every Canadian Prime Minister since Pierre Trudeau, but abide by the motto "We Cater to Everyone". Enjoy their delicious and decadent cuisine in the comfort of your own home.
To enhance the fabulous pre-show dinner party for you and your guests, a matched selection of properly cellared wines will be poured. Start out sampling some beautiful 20 year-old sparkles from the house of Charles Heidsieck champagne, you can them move on to the steely intensity of a Grand Cru white chardonnay – Les Clos vineyard 2004 from Domaine William Fevre with your first course. Switch over to red with two vintages from the famous Chateau de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape in south of France, incredible food wines that will pair with many different food choices. Your guests can sample vintages from 2000 and 1994 to compare and contrast wines at different maturity stages. Finally, before heading out for the evening, satisfy your sweet tooth with a half-bottle of the classic 1988 Chateau Climens, the top producer in Sauternes-Barsac.
To add that final sparkle to the event, your Dining Room table and living room will be dressed with flowers from Parterre Florists, a full service florist specializing in custom, European styled floral arrangements. Put your own personal stamp on your flowers as you work with Parterre to select your floral varieties in accordance with your décor.
Lot #5: Beautiful People with Places to Go
Value: $6,000
Generously donated by: Yvonne Jared, Chanel, North 44, The National Ballet of Canada, Holt Renfrew
Beautiful people need beautiful things, and what better way to accentuate beauty than with the classic accessories of pearls and a Chanel purse? Dating back to its 1909 origin, Coco Chanel's haute couture line has re-invented fashion the world-over. The Chanel brand today is not only one of the most recognized names in fashion, but is an icon of elegance that dresses the modern woman in clothes for a lifestyle. This stunning clutch is a classic evening model in black lace with white satin.
To match your Chanel evening purse, dress yourself in gorgeous six-strand fresh water pearl necklace. Strung without a clasp, this necklace of semi-baroque shaped fresh water pearls also boasts 60 tumbled baroque blue turquoise stones. It's sure to bring compliments wherever you wear this incredible piece of bijoux!
Now that you're all dressed up, you'll need places to go! You and 8 friends will enjoy a champagne lunch at Holts Café, one of the city's most glamorous shopping destinations. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Chef Corbin Tomaszeski's acclaimed restaurant, and take home gift bags to help you remember the day.
You will also enjoy dinner for four at North 44, celebrity chef Mark McEwan's first restaurant. Enjoy the world-class New Continental cuisine with McEwan's distinctive cooking which captures the essence of classical cuisine with nuances of contemporary flavours.
And, when you get home, spend your evening with a superstar, as you read a limited edition, autographed copy of Movement Never Lies, Karen Kain's autobiography. Kain is one of Canada's most beloved ballet stars. Having graced the stage for more than twenty years, she began her career as a student at Canada's National Ballet School. Upon graduation, she joined The National Ballet of Canada and rose quickly through the ranks to become a Principal Dancer. In 1973 she won the Silver Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, and went on to a hugely successful career on stages around the world. She retired from dancing in 1997, and become the National Ballet's Artist-in-Residence. In 1999 she took on the role of Artistic Associate, and in 2005 that of Artistic Director.
Karen Kain's incredible dance career has been documented in her autobiography, Movement Never Lies, was written in 1994. This stunning, rare package contains an autographed copy of her book as well as signed pointe shoes worn by Karen when she danced on stage. A better gift for a balletomane you will not find.
Student Partner Program
Because the costs of training at Canada's National Ballet School is high and talent is the sole criterion for acceptance into NBS, we offer a program designed to provide financial support to students, called the Student Partner Program. Following the live auction, there will be an opportunity for you to contribute to the program.
In the Student Partner Program, donors are partnered with a specific student, and follow their artistic progress. Student partners are selected by Artistic Director Mavis Staines and NBS staff.
The Student Partner Program offers different levels of involvement, from sponsoring a residential student in the Professional Ballet Program, to support a Teacher Training Program student, to helping NBS maintain its student exchange program. All donations and support help us encourage new generations to pursue their dreams.