A lot of ladies — and quite a few gents including American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Marcelo Gomes and the just-retired Jose Manuel Carreno — gawked as West Side Story star George Chakiris entered the Founder’s Room of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center. It was the opening night reception following ABT’s “The Bright Stream.”
Gomes, in particular, looked stunned. “I can’t believe I’m meeting you,” he murmured. Then, recovering, he shyly requested an IPhone photo with Chakiris. This was a funny switcheroo considering the Brazilian had just minutes before finished dancing the lead role in Alexei Ratmansky’s full-evening ballet-farce.
Thrilled, as well, to be photo’ed with the former Shark (below): Renae Williams Niles, the Music Center’s director of dance presentations and its recently appointed head of programming and Jane Jelenko, president of Center Dance Arts, the support organization for ‘Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center’ and a big West Side Story fan. [Click on photos for detail.]
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A dance critic was also hanging around …
Thank you, Dr. Macro, for the gorgeous West Side Story photo.
Thanks, Sherry Stern, swinger.
Event photography: Kathryn Ballsun
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