Scene & Heard: ‘Dancing Across Borders’ event to support Center Dance Arts

Arts patron Anne Bass never intended to become a filmmaker, but somehow she ended up directing and producing “Dancing Across Borders,” a documentary she presented in Beverly Hills on Tuesday. The screening benefited Center Dance Arts, which supports the performance series and educational programs of “Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.”

“I fell into it sideways,” Bass said, explaining that she originally hired a director to string together the footage of Sokvannara (Sy) Sar, a young Cambodian dancer she brought to New York 10 years ago. She quickly realized, however, that she wished to tell the story herself.

“Sy had an enormous talent that struck me when I first saw him dance in Cambodia,” Bass said. “I wouldn’t have presumed to think he would have enjoyed ballet more than what he was doing there, but when I got home, I couldn’t get his performance out of my mind.”

The film follows Sar’s journey through the world of ballet. At the film’s conclusion, he joined Bass and his dance instructor Olga Kostritzky onstage for a Q&A.

More than 300 guests gathered for the reception, among them Peter Bacanovic, Maria Bell, Jane Jelenko and Bill Norris, Annie and Gary Gilbar, Monique Lhuillier, Stephanie Murray, Ricki and Marvin Ring, Susan and Marvin Rothenberg, and Liane and Richard Weintraub. Colleen Neary, artistic director of the Los Angeles Ballet, brought her daughter Helena, 13, and 10 of the company’s dancers.

Gelila Puck, wife of super-chef Wolfgang Puck, said she found the film “inspirational,” adding, “It’s a phenomenal happy ending.”

‘Celebrate Colburn’ concert

Across town that same night, Carol Colburn Hogel gazed up at the Olive Street building at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, named for her late father, arts benefactor Richard Colburn.

“When I came out here after the building was finished, I thought if my father saw this, he would be so thrilled he’d be blubbering,” she said. Hogel was among 380 guests, including many Colburns, who turned up for “Celebrate Colburn,” the annual benefit concert by student musicians. The dinner that followed honored Ed Edelman for his leadership, both as a county supervisor from 1974 to 1994 and later as a private individual, in helping to create and sustain many of L.A.’s parks, museums and performing arts venues.

Over the sounds of the Thursday Night Jazz Band, Edelman recalled playing the cello, while Colburn accompanied him on the viola and always said, “The sum is better than the parts.”

And the parts Edelman played in L.A.’s cultural landscape — were considerable, according to dinner chairwoman Jennifer Diener. “He was significantly involved in making sure that Los Angeles serves the world-class cultural organizations that reside here.” She said.

Estimating net proceeds of $200,000 for the school’s annual fund and scholarships, Diener said that today the school’s Conservatory of Music boasts students from 13 different countries, while the community school serves six Southern California counties. Ages range from 7 months to adult, which she said followed Colburn’s vision to provide a “continuum of opportunity for performing arts education, from the earliest ages to the most advanced.”

Included in the crowd were sponsorship chairman Dan Clement and committee members Bob Attiyeh, Jill Baldauf, Alice Coulombe, Christiane Cuse, Lucy Farber, Carol Henry, Wendy Kelman, Hanna Kennedy, Gina Moffitt, Susan Keran Solomon, Jan Turner Colburn and Edelman’s wife, Mari.

ellen.olivier@society-news.com