“I want attitude ladies and lots of it! Move that body!” Hannah Swan said while strutting down the runway to the beat of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at a rehearsal for the Cocktails and Couture fashion show benefiting the Eugene Ballet Company.
“We took this event to a professional level. The talented models exhibited the exact beauty, grace and class to not only fit the production but also fit the boutiques that donated the clothes. Every model will bring life to the runway in a different way,” Swan, production director and a creator of the benefit, said.
The event, held April 13, transformed Hult Center for the Performing Arts into an place of glamour, cocktails, fashion and fundraising.
The proceeds earned, including the $10 audition fee and $25 ticket cost, went directly to the Eugene Ballet Company for next season’s productions.
“The money will not only fund future performances but also the costumes and shoes that are constantly in need of updating,” Swan said.
This event was a new approach to solving the old dilemma of how to fund performances.
Jennifer Wijangco, 26, model and treasurer of the Eugene Ballet Company Board of Directors, said, “This event has given us the opportunity to reach out to a whole new audience and get them interested in what the ballet has to offer… I was so excited to be involved in the (fashion show); modeling on the runway is a complete rush and the people watching felt the energy too.”
More than 150 male and female models ages 3 to 63 auditioned for a part in the fashion show. Around 45 models, including Eugene residents and ballet dancers, sashayed down the catwalk. For a number of the participants this was a step closer to a future career in modeling.
“Being a model is a lifetime aspiration and something I have always seen myself doing …although learning to walk like a model didn’t come easily,” Roxy Ahearn, 14, said.
Linda Albi, 50, was modeling for a slightly different reason.
“I wanted to prove to my teenage kids that I can still be spontaneous and have fun,” she said.
A professional model for the past 13 years, Swan and six other Eugene Ballet Company Board of Director members put together the production. They arranged 11 local boutiques to donate the latest clothes, including casual wear and lingerie. London Hair donated a cut and style to each of the models. Various local vendors donated luxurious packages for the raffle during the cocktail after-party.
One final production is left in the Eugene Ballet Company’s 2004-2005 season. “Scheherazade” will be performed on April 16 and 17. Log
on to www.eugeneballet.org for more information.