Los Angeles Ballet Will Honor Kris Bowers at 2024 Gala

Los Angeles Ballet (LAB) will celebrate its Season 18 Gala on Thursday, April 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. This year’s honorees are Academy Award® winning filmmaker, Emmy and Grammy nominated composer and pianist Kris Bowers and accomplished attorney and Los Angeles Ballet Board Chair Jennifer Bellah Maguire. The honorees are receiving Angel Awards for the extraordinary contributions they have made to the arts, LAB and the city of Los Angeles.  The evening will be hosted by Emmy® Award-winning actress Donna Mills and Andrew Firestone, of The Bachelor fame, will oversee the Live Appeal. 

The 2024 Gala co-chairs are Sharon Davis, Erica Min and Koni Rich. The evening will include ballet excerpts from Nicolas Blanc’s Tableaux Vivants, Hans van Manen’s Frank Bridge Variations, and Artistic Director Melissa Barak’s Cylindrical Forces and Reclamation, all performed by Los Angeles Ballet dancers. Cylindrical Forces recently premiered at LAB’s Next Steps program at The Broad Stage and features an original score by Gala honoree Kris Bowers.  

The Gala will begin with red carpet arrivals at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, sponsored by Gov. Gray (Ret.) & Sharon Davis, Leonard Green & Partners, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Dr Ray & Ghana Irani, Michael & Lori Milken Foundation, Erica & Sung Min and Koni & Geoff Rich.  Guests will then enjoy a cocktail hour sponsored by Tamar & Wache Manoukian and a silent auction. Dinner will be followed by the performances and the awards presentation.

LAB is the largest professional dance company in Los Angeles and is on an exciting trajectory towards national recognition. Melissa Barak’s world premiere of Memoryhouse last June gained local and national acclaim. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “It is an exciting moment for ballet in Los Angeles” and Forbes wrote “Memoryhouse signals a dazzling creative accomplishment.” 

Over the last decade, LAB’s Gala has grown into a beloved event to celebrate ballet as part of the cultural landscape of Los Angeles while raising critical funds for LAB’s artistic programming and mission-driven community offerings. Since 2006, LAB’s Power of Performance (POP!) has provided over 50,000 free tickets to underserved members of the community including foster children, seniors in assisted living, cancer survivors, and veterans. The company’s public education and outreach program features A Chance to Dance (ACTD), a vibrant community experience offered throughout the season with a variety of free dance, exercise and wellness classes, taught by our professional dancers at the LAB Center and in local schools. 

Past honorees include Paula Abdul, Lawrence Bender, Sofia Carson, Governor Gray Davis & Sharon Davis, Robert Day, Jenna Dewan, Linda Duttenhaver, Derek Hough, Ghada Irani, Bari Milken, Lori Milken, Jeff Polak, Gelila Assefa Puck, Kenny Ortega, Jane Seymour, Adam Shankman, Anastasia Soare, Johnese Spisso, Alia Tutor and Ben Vereen.  

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