The School of American Ballet’s annual SAB Ball, Step Into Our Shoes, unfolded on Monday evening at the David H. Koch Theater with a rhythm all its own. Guests gathered first for cocktails in the Koch Theater lobby before heading into the house for a three-act performance, followed by dinner and dancing—an evening designed to move seamlessly between celebration, performance, and purpose.
SAB students opened the program with Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, returning later in the evening in an expanded staging of Schubert Symphony by SAB alumna Laine Habony. Appearing at both the start and the close of the performance, the students served as the evening’s throughline—less symbolic than practical—showing where SAB training begins and how it evolves.
“This theme, Step Into Our Shoes, invites all of us here to experience what it truly means to train at SAB,” said board co-chair Liz Armstrong in remarks from the stage. “It speaks not just to the shoes our dancers wear, but to the foundations they inherit and the legacy they carry forward.”
The middle of the program offered a look at that legacy in real time. In the second of the evening’s three acts, New York City Ballet principals Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia danced Justin Peck’s Dig the Say, the funk-inflected duet that premiered at NYCB’s Spring Gala last year. Tiler may not be related to choreographer Justin Peck, but she is very much part of a ballet family—sharing the stage with her husband, and performing between works danced by the SAB students watching from the wings. Framed this way, the duet felt less like a centerpiece and more like a preview of what rigorous training can yield.
That sense of continuity extended beyond the stage, particularly in the honoring of the Fendi family. Fe Fendi—elegant and assured—wore an archival 1985 Fendi haute couture gown by Karl Lagerfeld, first worn to a gala at the Palazzo Venezia marking the launch of the house’s inaugural fragrance. “Ballet is food for the soul,” she said simply of the art form.
Her connection to SAB runs deep. Fe’s daughter Paola Fendi was herself a student in SAB’s Children’s Division, a formative experience that shaped the family’s long-standing commitment to the school. As SAB executive director Carrie Henricks noted from the stage, ballet became “a family affair”—from attending every performance to, years later, supporting the institution that trained the next generation. Paola and her sister Alessia have carried that devotion forward, and on this night, the Fendi presence was unmistakable: parents and daughters each hosted their own tables, all of them impeccably dressed, a study in fashion and patronage.
SAB board co-chair Jim Brennan put the school’s impact into perspective during his remarks, noting that SAB alumni make up 95% of New York City Ballet and that former students now perform with some 80 professional companies worldwide. The aim, he emphasized, is not only to train dancers, but to “support the whole dancer”—onstage and beyond.
Henricks also announced that the evening had raised more than $1.1 million and counting, supporting scholarships, initiatives, and SAB’s new artistic health and wellness center. More than $2 million in scholarships and financial aid are awarded annually, ensuring that talent—not circumstance—remains the sole criterion for admission.
In the audience, the room sparkled with familiar faces. Jill Kargman wore black velvet Saint Laurent; Paul Arnhold pinned on a brooch gifted by Carolina Herrera—a discreet nod to his husband, the label’s creative director Wes Gordon. NYCB dancer Gilbert Bolden III arrived in a turquoise look of his own design, continuing his tradition of turning gala dressing into personal expression. Sonia Sotomayor, a longtime ballet devotee, was also spotted taking in the performances.
Once dessert was served, the crowd changed gears. It was time for guests to step into SAB’s shoes, just as the invitation promised—and the dance floor lit up.
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