Ballet Opening Night
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York City Ballet’s opening night party falls at a lovely in-between time on the social calendar.
“We love this party. It’s a great way to start the holiday season,” Franci Blassberg said before curtain Tuesday night at the New York State Theater. “It’s festive, but it doesn’t have that Nutcracker-esque quality to it.”
The atmosphere was resort-like, with Palm Beach-style decor (bamboo trees, turquoise and green fabrics) and music imported from Saint Tropez (1970s disco hits punched up with samples of electronica). No red velvet or tartan taffeta skirts here. Dressed in neutral beige were Allison Sarofim, one of the gala’s chairwomen, and Christy Turlington, the gala’s honorary chairwoman, who is pregnant.
The last moments of the party marked the crossover into the Christmas season, as the ballet gave guests glossy red boxes tied with ribbon. The big gift of the event, however, was the $1.2 million raised for the ballet.
TRAVEL TIPS: ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Headed for Art Basel? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Bring a bathing suit. The nonstop art and party scene can be missed, if only for a few hours of sun and surf. At least stick your bare feet in the sand.
2.Your Whitney, MoMA, and New Museum friends are fabulous, but don’t miss the chance to meet people from other museums, especially those traveling with the Tate and San Francisco MoMA. And by all means brush up on your Spanish so you can talk to the Latin American and Spanish collectors.
3.When you check in with the office, don’t mention the weather in Miami Beach.
4. Vocabulary lesson: Scope is the alternative fair at the Townhouse Hotel on Collins Avenue; Frisbee is the alternative fair at the Cavalier Hotel on Ocean Drive; Nada is the alternative fair at the Ice Palace Film Studios in Miami.
5. It’s okay to talk about subjects besides art, such as private jets, private schools, and your upcoming ski vacation.
6. Sleep is not a priority here. The closest Starbucks to the Miami Beach Convention Center is at 416 Lincoln Road.
7. Don’t use your BlackBerry while standing in front of a work of art.
8. Dress adventurously. This means funky jewels, hems, and sleeves. Dark jewel tones are in, pastels out. Black is acceptable but boring.
9. Some of the best eavesdropping is inside the fair, where art advisers call their clients to talk about a purchase.
10. No summer clothes allowed except for the bathing suit.
11. Someone ought to jump in the pool during one of those proper poolside soirees.
12. Not going? Follow the action from home with WPS1 Art Radio at wps1.org.The station is streaming live from Miami Beach Wednesday through Saturday. P.S. 1’s Alanna Heiss and Klaus Biesenbach along with Althea Viafora-Kress and some artists from the Greater New York exhibit will be talking with artists, curators, and dealers at the fairs.The broadcasts take place in an open-air pavilion at Art Positions (20 shipping containers, right along the ocean, filled by up-and-coming galleries).