Celebrities, community leaders and philanthropists raised more than $1 million dollars to support the National YoungArts Foundation, the organization announced today.
The event, dubbed "An Affair of the Arts," brought several hundred people to downtown Miami Saturday night for was a celebrity-studded affair that honored director and choreographer Debbie Allen, violinist Joshua Bell and actor and YoungArts alumnus Adrien Grenier.
The event included performances by YoungArts recent alumni at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, followed by with dinner at the historic Alfred I. DuPont Hotel and dancing to the music of DJ Irie.
"'An Affair of the Arts,' was the culmination of an inspirational week with the YoungArts finalists. It is an incredibly rewarding to experience the work of these young students throughout the week and of the alumni at the performance," said Paul T. Lehr, the foundation's executive director.
The event was led by Honorary Gala Chairs Placido Domingo and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Baryshnikov was in attendance, along with Gala Chairs Mariele and Jorge Luis Lopez. Domingo had visited earlier in the week to conduct a master class with students and meet with foundation supporters.
Other notables in attendance were Lin Arison, who, with her late husband Ted founded YoungArts in 1981. Other notables included Sarah H. Arison, Elizabeth and Facundo Bacardi, Charles Brofman, Chick Corea, Jacques d'Ambroise, Bill T. Jones, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Debi Mazur, Andrew Rannells, Desmond Richardson, Max Schneider, Zuzanna Szadkowski and Marisa Tomei.
The event celebrated the 32nd edition of the YoungArts signature program, YoungArts Week, which provided 152 of the nation's most outstanding young talents in the visual, literary and performing arts with life-changing experiences, including the opportunity to take master classes with some of the world's most accomplished artists.
Next year's YoungArts gala will be held at the new National Young Arts Foundation headquarters, which is located in the iconic Bacardi complex in downtown Miami.
More info: YoungArts
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