Gala Welcome for American Ballet Theatre

They came, they saw, they got culture.

An A-plus list of celebrities and others turned up to fill 62 tables at a post-performance party for the American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday night at the Shrine Auditorium.

“They say we did an incredible job this year,” said Judy Ovitz, one of four gala co-chairman, without a trace of conceit. She was pleased with the turnout, despite the rotten weather, competing event (more fun with Andy and Fergie across town) and the location (the Shrine is not favored among audiences).

Four Parties

So that no one felt cheated, there were four parties throughout the evening, beginning with a pre-performance reception, continuing with receptions during the two intermissions, and a post-performance sit-down dinner in an adjoining exhibition hall. The intrepid (or restless--or camera-hungry) went to all four.

Ballet supporters paid $500 for the marathon evening or $350 for the performance and receptions. The Movado Watch Corp. underwrote the dinner. Moet & Chandon sponsored the champagne receptions.

Lilly Tartikoff admitted she was “hyper,” not nervous, at this, her first time out chairing a benefit. Tartikoff, much in demand on the charity circuit for her vitality and connections (she is married to NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff), danced with the New York City Ballet for eight years before hanging up her toe shoes.

She told the dinner crowd that when she gave up ballet she made a few vows: “I would never wear my hair back in a French twist, I would never walk like a dancer with my feet turned out, I would eat everything I wanted to eat, and I would never be disciplined. Right, Brandon?”

Chairing the benefit, she said, “is a lot like doing construction on your home. It takes twice as long and costs twice as much. And instead of asking people to buy tables--this isn’t AIDS, it’s ballet--I asked them to buy two tickets. And I called them five times.”

Her strategy worked. The NBC contingent was strong (who’s going to turn down the wife of the president?), including Ted and Casey Danson, Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman with Leif Garrett, Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, Harry Hamlin, Steven Bochco and Barbara Bosson.

Others filling the receptions and doing much air-kissing included Johnny and Alex Carson, Bette Midler and Martin von Haselberg, Sidney and Joanna Poitier, Goldie Hawn, Sally Field and Alan Greisman, William Devane, Victoria Principal and Harry Glassman, Steve Martin, Sydney Pollack, Ann Miller, Juliet Prowse, Donald O’Connor, Sandy Duncan, Betty White, Kirk and Anne Douglas, Terry and Dennis Stanfill, Jean and William French Smith, Harriet and Armand Deutsch, Barbara and Marvin Davis, Barry Diller, Donna Mills, Pat and Michael York, Marcia Weisman, Merv Griffin and Eva Gabor, Julie and John Forsythe and the other two co-chairmen, Herbert Ross and Douglas Cramer.

“I’ve done two of these and I’m gonna drop,” Cramer said, barely bouncing back from a MOCA benefit three days before. “Why did we do so well this time with the benefit? Because we have wonderful chairpeople,” he said.

Mommy and Me

“Because we’re so brilliant ,” joked Judy Ovitz, wife of Creative Artists Agency President Michael Ovitz. “And you promised me,” she said to Cramer, “that if I worked on this I wouldn’t have to miss a Mommy and Me class.”

Women dropped the sequins for lots of froufrou and minidresses, perhaps inspired by the costumes in “Gaite Parisienne,” the last piece of the program. Designed by the sensational French designer Christian Lacroix, the costumes were like bonbons for the eyes.

Lilly Tartikoff chose her strapless crimson satin Chanel gown for its bows; “It seemed Lacroix-ish,” she said. Midler turned up in a tight black and white polka-dot mini with three black bows down the back. There were big bows, big frills, huge rosettes and yards of tulle, making one wonder how they sit in those dresses.

Many guests didn’t stay long at the dinner, but most did put in an appearance before dashing off and facing the barrage of paparazzi and fans waiting outside. Others stayed to meet Mikhail Baryshnikov and some of the dancers. From Terry Stanfill to dancer Alessandra Ferri: “Buona sera! Bravissima!”

The band kept some until after midnight, dancing to ‘60s cover tunes. Even Johnny Carson and Lilly Tartikoff took a few spins to “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Brandon didn’t look the least bit jealous.