Oregon Ballet Theatre Presents Its Annual Gala, EXPERIENCE. Love, OBT, with Special Guest Lesley Ann Warren Tonight

Dancer, actress, singer, Academy Award Nominee and Golden Globe Award Winner Lesley Ann Warren will add her movie star glamour to that of Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) supporters in an evening to EXPERIENCE, Love and celebrate OBT. The EXPERIENCE. Love, OBT Gala will be held on May 16 at Pure Space, in Northwest Portland's Pearl District. The event will honor those who have built OBT and welcome new leaders that bring their artistic vision to the future of Portland's only professional ballet company.

Special guests include Founding Board President and Honorary Gala Chair, Kenneth Lewis, and former Artistic Director, James Canfield. Performances will celebrate OBT's past and future with dancers from the company performing excerpts, including one from Canfield's Romeo and Juliet, which will be revived as part of the season's opening program, OBT 25, in fall 2014.

The original Cinderella, Lesley Ann Warren, trained under George Balanchine at the School of American Ballet before becoming an actress, and put her dance training to use in musicals such as 110 In The Shade and Drat the Cat. Her natural, innocent beauty and ballerina's poise landed her the role of Cinderella in the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein television musical of the same name. Ms. Warren has gone on to a prolific career in Hollywood, including memorable roles in Victor, Victoria (1982), The Limey (1999), Clue (1985), and, more recently, Will and Grace, Desperate Housewives, and In Plain Sight. Ms. Warren says of her choice to appear at Oregon Ballet Theatre's gala, "I want to support Portland's growing national reputation as a burgeoning, artistically-minded community. As a student of Mr. Balanchine's, I have always felt like my first love was ballet and its ability to express all emotion with the language of the human body continues to move me deeply." Ms. Warren will be available for photo opportunities that evening, and one of the experiential auction packages at the event will be centered on the glamour of Hollywood.

As OBT wraps up the inaugural season of their new Artistic Director, Kevin Irving, and celebrates the retirement of Alison Roper, EXPERIENCE. Love, OBT will be an evening highlighting a legacy of dance in Portland. Passionate art supporter and OBT Trustee, Sally Ann Hopper, chairs the evening.

EVENT DETAILS

EXPERIENCE. Love, OBT

Tonight, May 16, 2014
Doors open at 6:00 PM
Pure Space
1315 NW Overton St., Portland, OR 97209 Complimentary valet parking

Tickets:

Guest Tickets - $200
Tables of 10 - $2,000
RSVP www.obt.org/gala or 503-290-0022. Tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/1n1cemh.

Join actress Lesley Ann Warren for an evening of passion, dance, food, and celebration. Meet founding Artistic Director James Canfield and founding Board President Kenneth Lewis, send off our prima ballerina Alison Roper as she retires from 18 years with Oregon Ballet Theatre, and support OBT as it sets the stage for a vibrant future.

ABOUT OREGON BALLET THEATRE

Founded in 1989, OBT is the state's largest full-time professional ballet company, dedicated to creating and preserving the art of ballet through the highest quality performance, training and educational programming. OBT is committed to producing compelling and diverse works that consistently inspire and entice audiences. OBT offers experiential arts education programs for youth and adults, as well as a professional ballet school for students ages 4-18. Through all the programs it offers, OBT reaches over 130,000 members of the community each year. For more information about OBT, go to: www.obt.org.

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