President Trump overhauled the Kennedy Center's board last year, got himself elected chairman, and installed ally Ric Grenell as president. Then, in December, his handpicked board renamed the venue "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" - slapping his name ahead of JFK's on one of the country's most storied arts institutions.
Being called the best assumes lightning will strike twice, on schedule, and then strike again. I think that's life at the San Francisco Ballet. I heard about many bests recently at its 93rd opening gala. Everywhere I looked, people chattered in polite gossip, and a new room waited for me to find reasons to linger, from macarons and photo stations; or I was catching up with my favorite performer while waiting in line for cocktails.
A record-breaking, dazzlingly dressed crowd turned out for San Francisco Ballet's Opening Night Gala on Jan. 14, with the fete raising more money than any event of its kind since the organization's founding in 1933 - a major achievement at a time when the organization attempts to balance grand ambitions amid mounting controversy. The sold-out evening at City Hall and the War Memorial Opera House brought out big names
"I had been that overwhelmed undergraduate in real life, trying to keep up with demanding economics classes at Stanford University, while simultaneously dancing during a 46-week season as a member of San Francisco's corps de ballet."
