Phenomenal! That’s the theme for the 2014 San Francisco Ballet’s Opening Night Gala, but could also describe the Pacific Heights residence of Isha and Asim Abdullah, which was the location for a recent event honoring the Benefactors and Grand Benefactors of the Ballet.
Guests at the Abdullahs’ included ballet lovers such as Barbara Brown, Mary Beth Shimmon, Carolyn Chandler, Margaret Mitchell, Mario Diaz, Robin Collins, and Norman and Norah Stone, among others.
Tanya Powell, this year’s gala chair, thanked the supporters, and noted that all of the tickets for the gala had been sold. “I don’t like to say ‘sold out’ because I always will make room for more people,” she joked. “I’ll have people sitting where they never sat before!”
The gala’s dinner chair, Patricia Ferrin Loucks, and decor chair Shelley Gordon, who worked closely with event planner Riccardo Benavides, were also at the event. Tanya thanked them for their contribution to the gala, and remarked “We’ll have phenomenal decor and a phenomenal meal.”
Rada Brooks, Kate Coffino – Jill Wickersham, Betsy Linder
Marie Hurabiell, Michelle Molfino – Chandra Friese, Bob Friese
Shelley Gordon, Asim Abdullah, Patricia Ferrin Loucks – Richard Barker, Tanya Powell
Following the gala opening, this year’s Ballet promises other “phenomenal” productions: Giselle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, The Right of Spring, world premieres from Val Caniparoli, Liam Scarlett and Helgi Tomasson, the Shostakovich Trilogy, and more.
You won’t want to miss them!