NIGHTLIGHT: Martha Graham Dance Company 85th Anniversary Season Opening Night Gala Tuesday March 15, 2011 Honored Robert Wilson Snow on the Mesa By Robert Wilson Maple Leaf Rag By Martha Graham
WHO: The Martha Graham Dancers and Robert Wilson.
Cameo Dancers: Cornelia Guest, Somers Farkas, Muffie Potter Aston, Grace Hightower De Niro (Somers and Grace ate at Swifty's recently and the crabcakes there dance in Peachy's stomach like Astaire; see Peachy and The Pug: http://www.whomyouknow.com/2011/03/peachy-and-pug-grace-hightower-deniro.html)
Guests attended: Dr. Sherrell Aston, Joan Juliet Buck, Patti D'Arbanville, Mary Jonathan Farkas, Richard LaFrak, Robert De Niro, Jay McInerny and Anne Hearst, Mary McFadden, Neila Radtke, Timothy and Karin Greenfield-Sanders, Lee and Marvin Traub, Rufus Wainwright, Albert and Elizabeth Watson, Robert Wilson, and Jorn Weinsbrodt.
Mr. and Mrs. Woody Allen and Edmund White will be at the theater not the gala.
WHAT: The Martha Graham Dance Company 85th season Anniversary Opening Night. Honoring Robert Wilson. Performance includes: Snow of the Mesa by Robert Wilson and Maple Leaf Rag by Martha Graham.
WHEN: Tuesday March 15, 2010 (Performance 7PM/ Gala 8:30PM)
WHERE: Performance: Jazz at Lincoln Center (10 Columbus Circle The Time Warner Center-Fifth Floor).
Gala: Mandorian Oriental (80 Columbus Circle -35 Floor).
WHY: The Martha Graham Dance Company announces its spring season, seven performances presented by Paul Szilard Productions, Inc. and Michael Brenner-Sundance Productions, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Broadway at 60th Street, New York City. The program includes a major new commission, a revival of Robert Wilson’s 1995 Snow on the Mesa, as well as immortal works by Martha Graham as befits this, the 85-anniversary season of The Martha Graham Dance Company.
Robert Wilson’s 1995 Snow on the Mesa will be presented on opening night. Premiering just four years after Martha Graham’s death, it was originally subtitled “Portrait of Martha.” This was only the second commission by a guest artist for the Company (Twyla Tharp was commissioned in 1993). It is also the first and only work created by Wilson for a dance company. Received enthusiastically at its Kennedy Center premiere, the work’s imagery evokes the creative journey of the artist or, as Martha frequently said, “the path that chose her.” The 50-minute work with music by George Antheil, Lou Harrison, Colin McPhee features traditional Balinese gamelan instrumentalists, with costumes by Donna Karan. Robert Wilson recently commented, “Snow on the Mesa is a personal portrait of Martha Graham. It reflects the many aspects of her persona, her interest in early America and the Shakers, her love for nature and the Midwest, her interest in Colin McFee and Balinese dance, her interest in western myths and Asian culture. She was a pioneer and visionary.” Paul Schmidt, who created the scenario, stated in the original program notes, “Snow on the Mesa is our homage to Martha’s memory, a dance/theater piece in twelve sections. It uses abstract forms and movements to recall the American images that gave meaning to Martha’s work and to her life.”
Snow on the Mesa will be paired with another dance that also reflects on the ironies and inspirations of her creative life: Graham’s own witty Maple Leaf Rag. Premiered in 1990 at New York City Center, it was the last complete ballet to be choreographed by Graham. With costumes by Calvin Klein, and a score by Scott Joplin, the dance was immediately a favorite for Graham audiences. Like figments of the imagination, these dancers enter and exit at will in a parody of movement themes drawn from classic Graham repertory.
Maple Leaf Rag premiered in 1990 at the City Center Theater in New York City. The last complete ballet to be choreographed by Martha Graham, the dance takes a sly look at the foibles of a contemporary choreographer (such as Graham herself) and gently mocks the plight of the artist in the throes of creation. With costumes by fashion designer Calvin Klein, lighting by David Finley, and a score featuring the music of Scott Joplin, the dance was immediately a favorite of Graham audiences. A ridiculous boomerang-shaped barre dominates the stage, the perfect prop for the cast of unruly characters that inhabit this ballet. Like figments of the imagination, these dancers enter and exit at will in a parody of movements drawn from classic Graham repertory.
Maple Leaf Rag is Martha Graham’s humorous and loving tribute to the choreographic muse. It is also a fond tribute to the Scott Joplin music of her youth and to her long association with Louis Horst, her one-time mentor and lover. ”Louis,” she says at the beginning of the dance, “play me the Maple Leaf Rag.”
CAMEO DANCER’S BIOS:
Muffie Potter Aston, a graduate of Georgetown University, was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Her professional career started at CBS, Inc. as a lobbyist, working on a variety of issues ranging from broadcast deregulation to federal advertising guidelines. From there, she went on to the British Broadcasting Corporation, where she oversaw marketing and publicity efforts on behalf its documentary division, Lionheart Television. Thereafter, she became Executive Vice President of Marketing for Van Cleef & Arpels, U.S. Group.
Muffie is a member of the Board of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Corporate Chair of the Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala Steering Committee, and a past member of the Board of Trustees for American Ballet Theatre, among many affiliations. With American Cancer Society, New York City, she has served as Chair, Co-Chair and Benefit Committee member for Mothers of the Year Award Luncheons. Her involvement in fundraising is regularly sought out because she is famous for getting things done and getting them done well.
Wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Sherrell Aston, and mother to twin daughters Ashleigh Tatiana and Bracie Potter, Muffie is as dedicated to her family as she is to fighting cancer, a cause near and dear to her heart. She has been involved directly or peripherally with cancer-related issues since birth. Her father, Dr. John F. Potter, was Chief of Oncologic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, where he founded and was Director of the Lombardi Cancer Center, and is Chairman Emeritus. He also founded and is Director of the United States Military Cancer Institute. Additionally, her mother, Tanya K. Potter, was the first Chairperson of the volunteer fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society’s Washington, DC chapter. Muffie continues the legacy of her family by championing cancer institutions.
Muffie is also the recipient of the Henry Street Settlement Award for community service and the Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Award for her fundraising efforts. However, motherhood comes first above all things. “The Mother of the Year Award,” Muffie says, “is tremendously special as there is nothing I am more passionate about than my daughters.”
For her longstanding advocacy of and campaign for cancer causes, and for her outstanding dedication to core family values, the American Cancer Society, New York City is proud to present the 2011 Mother of the Year Award to Muffie Potter Aston.
Born and educated in Virginia, Somers Farkas has lived in Manhattan for 16 years. Beginning her career as an advertising account executive, Mrs. Farkas left the for-profit arena to dedicate her time to non-profit organizations and to raising money for various local and national political representatives.
Mrs. Farkas is an active philanthropist and has also chaired numerous charitable events, raising millions for organizations, including The Southampton Hospital, School of American Ballet, ASPCA, the Alzheimer’s Association and Lighthouse International. She currently serves on the board of The New York Women’s Foundation and on the Steering Committee of the Alzheimer’s Association, from which she will receive the 2011 Rita Hayworth Caregiver Award, at its annual benefit October 25, 2011. She too enjoys membership in the Colonial Dames of America and Daughters of the American Revolution.
Farkas has also modeled professionally, and served as a consultant to the New York City Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations. She is a professional writer, having had an on-line presence at NYC& CO and features in GOTHAM and HAMPTONS Magazines. Today, she works with Lighthouse International, an organization dedicated to fighting vision loss.
Mrs. Farkas continues to live on the east coast with her husband, Jonathan Farkas.
Cornelia Guest has been passionate about animals and nature since she was a child. Her passion is reflected in every aspect of her life including her philanthropy, animal activism, and business enterprises.
In 2009 she founded Cornelia Guest Events and Cornelia Guest Cookies, catering high-end charity and entertainment events with healthy, vegan dishes. Her mission is to encourage and inspire people to be conscious of the diet choices they make in their daily lives.
Cornelia is currently designing her own line of jewelry, as well as a collection of animal-friendly handbags, wallets and dog accessories made with a vegan alternative to leather; both lines are scheduled to launch in the fall of 2011.
Daughter of American fashion icon CZ Guest and polo champion Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, Cornelia has been able to use her media attention and professional contacts to support Humane Society of New York, and was named by Donna Karan as one of the Women Who Inspire. Cornelia is also an advocate for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality and hosted their fall 2010 event with Mayor Bloomberg.
Grace Hightower De Niro serves on the board of the New York Women's Foundation, a cross-cultural alliance of women catalyzing partnerships and leveraging human and financial capital to achieve sustained economic security and justice for women and girls. Additionally, Grace supports the American Ballet Theater as well as other charities. She is currently focused on education reform in the United States. Grace is a Trustee on the Board of the Gateway School in NY. She is married to actor Robert De Niro and they have a beautiful son which is her primary focus.
Karen LeFrak graduated Mt. Holyoke College magna cum laude. She earned an MA in Music History from Hunter College. Her thesis “In Search of the New Classics,” won the Dean’s Award in Arts and Humanities.
As a composer, her five percussion pieces had their world premiere with the NYU Percussion Ensemble. The NY Philharmonic principal brass performed her five brass pieces in ”Make Music NY.” Cake, an original ballet score for strings, premiered with the ABT Studio Company followed by performances at Guild Hall, East Hampton and at the Long Island Mozart Chamber Music Festival. Her ballet score Pavlovsk, a pas de deux for full orchestra premiered in New York with ABT 2. It’s touring Europe and the US. A full-length version is scheduled for the Alabama Ballet Company in 2013.
Her third children’s book, Best in Show was published February. Karen LeFrak is a creative and philanthropic New Yorker. In recognition of outstanding achievement, the Hunter Alumni elected her to their College Hall of Fame.
