1 of 16
Milton White and Tiffany Fallon
2 of 16
Tia Sillers, Karla Davis, Victoria Banks, Paul Vasterling, Sharon Sandahl, Mary Morgan Ketchel, Julie Stadler, David Medeiros
3 of 16
Roland Jones and Susan Short Jones
4 of 16
Ali and Nicole Frazmand, Michelle Maldonado, Dave Puncochar
5 of 16
Christopher Stuart and Tia Sillers
6 of 16
Sharon Sandahl and Mary Morgan Ketchel
7 of 16
Gabrielle and Brent Hannafan
8 of 16
Dallas Wilt, Mary Perkins, Meera and Seenu Reddy
9 of 16
Martha Investor and Sarah Reisner
10 of 16
Matt and Ann Dobson, Mark Humphreys, Emily Hastings, U.S. Rep Marsha Blackburn
11 of 16
Angela Humphreys, Joe Cashia, Vicki Horne
12 of 16
John and Arlene McLaren, Jayne Menkemeller, Paul Vasterling
13 of 16
Luis Fernandez and Vivian Lavin Fernandez
14 of 16
Kanya Raja, Nancy Hearn, Patsy Weigel
15 of 16
Stephen and Marci Houff
16 of 16
Ward and Jennifer Baker, Amy and Wes Pass
The 2016 Ballet Ballthe largest fundraiser for the Nashville Balletwas a milestone celebration, marking the ballet's 30th anniversary season. Co-chairs Sharon Sandahl and Mary Morgan Ketchel orchestrated a grand affair, befitting of such an occasion. Patrons were greeted inside the Schermerhorn Symphony Center's west lobby by statuesque dancers in floral tutusfashioned from hundreds of flowers by Nashville Ballet's talented costume departmentposing between cascading arrangements of spring blooms. Even though the night showcased many traditions over the past 30 years, there were a few firsts: the first featured jeweler at Ballet Ball was Lindell Jewelers of Brentwood, a special presentation of the inaugural Nashville Ballet Synergy Award, and for the first time, Ballet Ball was a locally televised event.
Syzygy Events helped design the Parisian-style dinner party inside Laura Turner Concert Hall with linens and florals in the ballet blue and coral color scheme. They even created the Ballet Ballet logo from more than 700 roses to hang on the staircase. The logo was a prominent design feature and was even branded into items throughout the multi-course menu prepared by The Chef's Market.
For the entertainment, the Ballet Ball usually features a musical performance set to original choreography. This year, a diverse group of artists contributed multiple performances alongside company dancers. Some of the program highlights were singer/songwriters Victoria Banks with "The Wheel" and Karla Davis with "Dare to Dance Alone," a nod to the recent Bluebird Cafe collaboration from February's contemporary ballet series Attitude. Jana Kramer sang her hit single "I Got the Boy" alongside original choreography by Nashville Ballet's Christopher Stuart. And Dance Network's Julie Stadler and David Medeiros brought the world of ballroom dance to the stage with a rhythm number. Dance Network is a full-service network with all dance-related programming.
Nashville Ballet artistic director and CEO Paul Vasterling presented the inaugural Nashville Ballet Synergy Award to Tia Sillers who wrote the hit song "I Hope You Dance." Sillers closed out the program with a special performance of her Grammy Award-winning song combined with another original piece by Stuart. The Ballet Ball supports Nashville Ballet's education and outreach programs, which reach more than 40,000 children and their families throughout Middle Tennessee.
Photos by Kendall Mitchell Gemmill.