NYCB to Celebrate Valentino at Fall Gala, 9/20

New York City Ballet announced today that its 2012 Fall Gala on Thursday, September 20 will feature a special one-time-only celebration of the legendary fashion designer and master couturier, Valentino Garavani, often known simply as Valentino.

For this special evening, Valentino will create costumes for three works by NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, including a new ballet set to selections from Tschaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and two rarely performed pieces d’occasion created for NYCB’s 1988 American Music Festival – Sophisticated Lady, which is set to music by Duke Ellington and premiered on the opening night of the festival, and Not My Girl, a pas de deux inspired by, and set to music composed by Fred Astaire, which premiered on the closing night of the festival.

The evening will also include a new pas de deux by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which will also feature costumes designed by Valentino. In addition, as a tribute to the designer’s signature “Valentino Red,” New York City Ballet will perform George Balanchine’s Rubies, the second section of the full-length Jewels, which is set to Igor Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, and features scenery by Peter Harvey, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley.

The co-chairmen for the evening are NYCB Board Members Maria Bartiromo, Pamela J. Joyner, and Sarah Jessica Parker, as well as Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino’s long-time business partner.

Valentino founded his eponymous fashion house in Rome in the late 1950s and has since established an illustrious career designing for the world’s most glamorous women, from royalty to Hollywood icons, including Jackie O, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. Throughout his career Valentino has been awarded the highest recognitions and achievements, including Italy’s highest distinction, Cavalier di Gran Croce, and France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, in addition to numerous awards in the fashion industry. In 2008 Valentino took his final bow at his haute couture show and officially retired from his career in fashion, though he continues to create and follow his passions. In 2009, Valentino designed the costumes for the Vienna Ballet, and in 2011 he and Mr. Giammetti launched the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum.

Benefit-priced tickets for the gala evening, which include the performance, a pre- performance reception, and a black-tie supper ball following the performance, are available through the NYCB Special Events Office at 212-870-5585. Tickets to the performance only start at $29 and will be available beginning August 6 at the David H. Koch Theater box office, online at www.nycballet.com, or by calling 212-496-0600.