Ballet San Jose - Fashion Show at Silicon Valley Capital Club
April 10, 2008

"Elegance in the Afternoon," a luncheon and fashion show of Max Nugus designs, was presented at the Silicon Valley Capital Club on Thursday, April 10th to benefit Ballet San Jose SCHOOL'S scholarship program.  The event raised over $25,000 for the non-profit school and all expenses were underwritten by Valerie Burniece, Giselle & Ray Farris, Joan & Mike Hackworth, Judi Jurkowski, Sydene Kober, Marie LoPresto, Karen & Walter Lowenstern, Michelle Rose, Andrea Gregory Schoen, Ani Varro, and Shirlee Walker.  Event Sponsors were AgeDefy Dermatology & Wellness, Inc. and Northern Trust.

Ballet San Jose dancer Akua Parker shows off one of Max Nugus' fabulous hats.

The inaugural event was sold-out weeks beforehand and had a lengthy waiting list. School director Lise la Cour lavished praise on event chair Marie LoPresto for her excellent work and on Charmaine Warmenhoven who has been a “guiding light” for the school since its inception in 1996. KRON-TV weekend news anchor Ysabel Duron (who has long been a supporter of the school) served as mistress of ceremonies. The event included a late-morning champagne reception, a luncheon with Jo Malone gift bags, fashion show and Donation Drawings for prizes that included a Tiffany pearl necklace, a golf package at CordeValle Golf Club, the weekend use of a Bentley donated by Silicon Valley Auto Group, a luxury spa gift basket from Dustin David Salons and AgeDefy Dermatology, and the weekend use of a condo at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton.

Models for the fashion show included Ballet San Jose dancers Karen Gabay and Akua Parker and prominent members of the community with ties to the ballet company and school: Penny Pogue Del Grande, Shellie Fry, Sharon Gustafson, Lillian Gong-Guy, Greta Jackson, Judi Jurkowski, Sydene Kober, Joanne Meninger, Arlene Noodleman, Marcia Reidel and Maggie Wong.  The show was presented in three parts; casual wear, hats and evening wear.  Max Nugus held a “trunk sale” following the event.  Max Nugus boutiques are located in San Francisco, New York, London and Maui, Hawaii.

A Slide Show of the event can be seen here.

Ballet San Jose SCHOOL is a year-round, not-for-profit program for ages 4 through adult.  The award-winning school recently won two gold medals in an international competition in Italy and was presented a commendation by the City of San Jose.  The school gives ten to fifteen scholarships a year to selected students and some 30 or more children are offered free classes through the BSJ Outreach Program.  Students from the school will be performing with the professional company in Dennis Nahat’s THE FIREBIRD at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, May 1-4 and again in Lise la Cour’s world premiere of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, May 24 and 25 at the California Theater in downtown San Jose.