ABT’s Golden Circle Luncheon

by Linda Wang, Membership Intern

After months of preparation, American Ballet Theatre’s Golden Circle Luncheon was well on its way in early June. The Golden Circle Luncheon is a lovely afternoon lunch held at the Plaza Hotel hosted by members of the Golden Circle, followed by a dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera House. A lot of hard work went in to making it the spectacular afternoon it turned out to be. As a membership intern, I helped with the book keeping and income log; taking reservations and donations for the event in the months prior to it. I also assisted with table charts, seating arrangements, and gift bags. The week prior to the event was filled with plenty of anxiety and excitement, along with office bonding, and some take out lunch.

On June 4th, we (the membership staff) arrived at the Plaza Hotel at 9 am. Coffee in hand, we were all ready for a long successful day. I helped set up the costume fund area which consisted of beautiful costumes previously worn by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Nina Ananiashvili, Xiomara Reyes, Herman Cornejo, and more. Then it was off to the Grand Ballroom to assist with gift bagging the Bobbi Brown makeup, setting out the Chloe & Isabel jewelry, and unloading the twenty plus orchid centerpieces which one lucky guest from each table was able to take home.

At 11 am, the doors opened and the guests began to arrive. They were served prosecco and punch until they were let into the Ballroom itself. Lunch began with a simple mixed green salad, with a side shot of split pea soup, followed by salmon with a bread crumb crust, and a delectable light desert. After more speeches were said and more mingling was done, guests were taken onto the coach buses and driven to the Metropolitan Opera House. At 2 pm we all headed inside to watch an exclusive rehearsal of Onegin – Hee Seo and David Hallberg gave a breathtaking performance that I will never forget!

Being a part of the Golden Circle Luncheon was a great experience as an intern. It was such a pleasure to be a part of the planning process and then to watch all of our hard work play out into such a lovely day. Also, being able to watch a private rehearsal wasn’t too bad either! It was a great way to end my internship at ABT.