PHOTO: Inside YAGP's Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala

Todd Cohen and Rebecca Hessel Cohen. Madison McGaw/BFA.com

Year after year, the Youth America Grand Prix gala fills the David H. Koch Theater with the kind of cross-sector guest list that only ballet can conjure up. This year’s Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala drew more than 300 guests to the Grand Promenade for an evening of dinner and dancing overseen by a creative chair Marcella Guarino Hymowitz (billionaire’s wife Gregg S. Hymowitz) and co-chaired by the entrepreneur Jordana Blitzfitness influencer Isaac boots, Natasha Caronna, Colleen Crivello, Courtney Davis, Dotty Giordano, Aly Gradone, AUTHOR Sarah Hoover, Lindsay Kraus, Jennifer Lipschultz, Josephine Lee, Kamie Lightburn, Jeffrey O’Brecht, Samantha Parents, Amanda Perrin, Grace Brea Pomeranz, Emily Reifel, Priya Shukla, Eliza Stein, Daniela W. Table, Barbara Tober, Virginia W. Thomson, Lesley Thompson Wechsler, Rachel Wexler and board chairs Lina Wallach.

The evening reception was Misty Copelandthe former first director of the American Ballet Theatre, who remains one of the most recognizable names in dance, with Tamar GreeneBroadway’s longest-running George Washington Hamilton. Before nightfall, Greene would bring the room down by singing a small excerpt from the show — “Remember from here on out, history has its eyes on you” — a line that landed with particular weight in a room full of young dancers hoping to one day follow in the footsteps of their idols.

Misty Copeland and Tamar Greene. Photo: Luke Kwo of LK STUDIO

The evening honored two women whose ties to ballet ran deep. LoveShackFancy founder and creative director Rebecca Hessel Cohen received recognition for her work at the intersection of fashion and dance culture, while the former ABT ballerina Melanie Hamrick—who also contributed an original choreography to the evening’s program, rainbowset to a special arrangement of The Rolling Stones’ “Like a Rainbow” by her partner Mick Jagger— was honored for her contribution to the art form.

For the third year in a row, guests had the opportunity to bid on glamorous, custom-designed shoes as part of Project Pointe, with all proceeds supporting young dancers pursuing professional careers. This year’s contributing designers included A-Morir, Alice + Olivia, All III, Ally Boggard and Mara HoffmanAmir Taghi, Carolina Herrera, Hervé Léger by Michelle Ochs, Hope Gangloff, JK5, Lapointe, Libby Klein Art, LoveShackFancy, Michael Kors, Monse and Renna Jewels.

The guest list was a testament to YAGP’s influence. Dance world turned out in force: former ABT directors Stella Abrera, Maxim Beloserkovsky AND Irina Dvorovenko mixed with ballet stars Ashley Boulder, Snow Corrigan, Harrison Ball, Skyler Brandt (who attended with her fiancé Vladimir Rumyantsev), Katya Tolstova AND Christian Zimmerman. Chelsea Clinton—a reliable presence at some of New York’s most important cultural gatherings—was also there, accompanied by a contingent spanning Hollywood, fashion and philanthropy, including the Oscar winner F. Murray Abrahamactors Brook Adams, Tony Shalhoub, Chris Noth, McCallany dead and the rising star Demi Singleton, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills FIXATION Sutton Strackestylist Mara Hoffmanbusinesswoman Dylan Laurenphilanthropist Maria Cristina AnzolaMillion dollar listing Luiz AND Steve Goldphilanthropist Goth AND Gary Brandtinfluencer Shannon Zhao and entrepreneur Brynn Putnam.

Polina Semionova performing a pas deux from Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon with partner Martin ten Kortenaar. Photo: Luke Kwo of LK STUDIO

The main event, of course, was the performance, presented by the Founder and Artistic Director of YAGP Larissa Saveliev to a packed house. Guests cheered as ballerinas appeared on the balconies surrounding the Promenade before the program began in earnest. Nikoletta Manni AND Timofey Adriashenko of La Scala Ballet made their New York debut in a pas de deux from Mauro BigonzettiS ‘ Caravaggio (a New York premiere) and in the classic show Big Step Classic. Polina Semionova of the Berlin State Ballet made a long-awaited return to the YAGP stage, performing a pas de deux from Sir Kenneth MacmillanS ‘ Manon with the partner Martin ten Kortenaaralso of the Berlin State Ballet, as well as a work set in The dying swan Apart Braylon Browner e So you think you can dance. Christine Shevchenko AND Calvin Royal III of ABT, Reece Clarke of the Royal Ballet and Roman Mejia of New York City Ballet shared the stage for Corsairand Shevchenko and Royal closed with Hamrick’s rainbow. As per tradition, 120 YAGP finalists from this year’s international competition took to the stage for a Used part to close the evening – a beautiful reminder of exactly what the organization exists to do.