Shelby's Social Diary
Houston Ballet Ball goes over the $1 million mark a week before the curtain goesup at Wortham
Over the moon — that would be the entire Houston Ballet family as news spread Wednesday night that the 2012 Ballet Ball has brought in $1 million — a first for this organization — and the gala isn't until next week.
Wednesday's brilliant "Art for Art's Sake" event, which is part of the ball's silent auction offering, threw the take into that enviable seven-figure range. Ball chairs John and Becca Cason Thrash and Greggory and Pat Burk all but cheered at the results.
The heavy-hitter crowd consisted of more than 200 gallerists, collectors, artists and ballet patrons.
Becca, Greggory and Catherine Anspon, PaperCity fine arts editor, rounded up 37 pieces of art from local and national artists/galleries including Julian Schnabel, James Surls and Damien Hirst. The works were displayed throughout the Cason Thrash home for the cocktail evening, where Becca, who divined this clever fundraising scheme, circulated through talking art, art, art.
The heavy-hitter crowd consisted of more than 200 gallerists, collectors, artists and ballet patrons. Robert McClain of McClain Gallery, Wade Wilson of Wade Wilson Art, Thom Andriola of New Gallery and Chris Skidmore of Gremillion Gallery, each with contributing artists, perused the offerings.
Contributing to the high energy of the night were artists in the mix including Ibsen Espada, Mel DeWees, McKay Otto, Bert Long Jr., Thedra Cullar-Ledford and, in from Laguna Beach, Joseph Cohen and James Verbicky.
By night's end, six pieces were picked up at the "buy tonight" price. All works will be on display in the Grand Foyer of Wortham Theater Center Wednesday night as bidding continues on the remaining works throughout the Ballet Ball.
The party crowd included Ballet honchos Stanton Welch, Jim Nelson, C.C. Conner and Patsy Chapman plus Haydeh and Ali Davoudi, Duyen and Marc Nguyen, Sarah Dodd-Spickelmier, Gregory Fourticq, Jo and Jim Furr, Merele and Joe Hafner, Beth Muecke, Monsour Taghdisi, Shannon Hall and Dominique Sachse and Nick Florescu.