"Imagine showing up to work at your high-powered Wall Street job and being asked to play Max Headroom, or execute the iconic lift from "Dirty Dancing?" Blackstone's latest holiday video dropped on Thursday, celebrating the firm's 40th anniversary with a slew of 80s references. Three of the Blackstone executives featured in the latest edition of the "cringeworthy" Wall Street tradition spoke to Business Insider about their experience."
"As Business Insider has previously reported, the process takes months, usually starting in the summer with a brainstorm between Blackstone President Jon Gray, head of external affairs Christine Anderson, and head of video Jay Gillespie. This year's video includes roughly 400 employees, up from just 20 in 2018. Roles range from Gray's permanent casting as impish instigator to the casting of all of the firm's global partners for a parody of "We Are the World.""
"Zaneta Koplewicz, BREIT director, co-president, and head of shareholder relations, had been a dancer while at Princeton and considered herself "a pretty serious ballet dancer", a fact she revealed earlier this year while being interviewed for one of the firm's social media videos. Her dance experience led to her being cast to do the lift from Dirty Dancing at the climax of this year's musical number. 'After the shoot happened, I asked, 'Who would have done this if not me?'' Koplewicz said."
Blackstone staged a large-scale, 80s-themed holiday video to mark its 40th anniversary, featuring roughly 400 employees and many senior executives. The production is a recurring firm tradition that involves months of planning beginning in the summer and a core creative team including Jon Gray, Christine Anderson, and Jay Gillespie. Roles in the video range from comedic instigation by senior leaders to ensemble parodies such as a "We Are the World" send-up. Executives volunteered physical comedy and performance bits, such as a Dirty Dancing lift, and described the experience as an intentional act of playful self-embarrassment that resonates beyond the firm.
Read at Business Insider
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