15th ANNIVERSARY GALA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE
An evening of unexpected pairings, unlikely conversations, and three world premiere ballets honoring longtime supporters Claire and Chris Mann.
THIS FALL,
BALLETCOLLECTIVE
TURNS FIFTEEN.
On Thursday, November 5, 2026, we’ll celebrate that anniversary at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, an extraordinary setting for an evening honoring two extraordinary people whose generosity, conviction, and imagination have helped BalletCollective become what it is today: Claire and Chris Mann.
Claire has been part of BalletCollective from the beginning, a founding board member whose belief came early and never wavered. In honoring the Manns, we celebrate a whole community of people who believed in our mission and chose to help us build something before it had a shape.
Like our art itself, our Gala resists convention. It opens with a pre-performance celebration created with immersive theater director Hope Youngblood Heck, then moves into an intimate performance drawn from this season's motif, Opposites Attract. The idea began as a description of how we make things, bringing brilliant artists from different forms and backgrounds into the same room, and grew into an exploration of the competing impulses inside a single mind.
Danced by artists from New York City Ballet and beyond, set to live, original scores, these works are made by choreographers and composers and inspired by commissioned work from Source Artists at the front of their fields.
GALA SCHEDULE
THE CELEBRATION
6:30-8:00 PM
An evening of playful experiences, cuisine,
and surprising encounters
THE PERFORMANCE
8:00-9:15 PM
Two premiere ballets with live music
THE PARTY
9:15-10:30
Celebrate with the artists
JOIN US AT THE GALA
If you would like to include your name on the printed invitation and Gala Materials, please make your commitment by September 10. If you cannot join us on November 5, please consider a contribution in honor of the occasion.
LEVELS OF
SUPPORT
VICE CHAIR PACKAGE at $10,000
Vice Chair listing in printed materials
For up to 6 guests:
Access to the pre and post-performance gala
Premier seating at the performance
A limited-edition item designed by the season’s Collectives
VISIONARY TICKET at $2,500
Visionary listing in printed materials
Access to the pre and post-performance gala
Premium seating at the performance
A limited-edition item designed by the season’s Collectives
LEADER TICKET at $1,250
Leader listing in printed materials
Access to the pre and post-performance Gala
Seating at the performance
A limited-edition item designed by the season’s Collectives
CATALYST TICKET FOR GUESTS UNDER 40 at $450
Catalyst listing in printed materials
Access to the pre and post-performance Gala
Seating at the performance
A limited-edition item designed by the season’s Collectives
A year-long membership to our Catalyst program, including special events and studio visits
GALA CHAIRS
Karin & Paul Kingsley
Elizabeth & Tim Mayhew
Sara Jane Mercer
Stephen Kroll Reidy
Sapna & Ashish Shah
Festive cocktail attire.
The Celebration will feature food stations and small supper plates. Seating will be available. Dessert and drinks will be passed during intermission at The Performance, which will be followed by The Party.
BalletCollective at 15
Fifteen years ago this fall, a young organization made its New York debut. It has since become a leader in the field, unafraid to be bold, to take a chance, and, as an early New York Times review put it, to "ask central questions about the genre of ballet."
At BalletCollective, ballet is a collaborative art form, not a style. Since our founding we have worked with more than 350 artists, authors, choreographers, composers, musicians, designers, and dancers through The BalletCollective Process, our original method for making forward-thinking, dance-based work.
BalletCollective has been presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, Pioneer Works, and Trinity Church Wall Street, and covered in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Dance Magazine, Pointe, Cosmopolitan, T Magazine, and CR Fashion Book.
2026 FALL SEASON ARTISTS
M. Soledad Caballero, Amanda Gladu, Georgia Greene, Thomas Hogan, Mizuho Kappa, Noelle Kayser, Julia Kent, Keenan Kiefer, Brooke Lutz, Arayah Lyte, Maya Milić, NOIS, Paul Novak, Alexander Perone, Ben Rawson, Davide Riccardo, Matt Rota, Dan Schlosberg, Troy Schumacher, Heather Sielaff, Ian Sullivan, Alexsander Swader, Ella Titus, Phong Tran, Shane Urton, and Hope Youngblood Heck.
PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
Brigid
Choreography by Noelle Kayser
Music composed and performed by Julia Kent
Source Art by scent artist Heather Sielaff
INTERMISSION & DESSERT
What if, for a day, we could be friends
Choreography by Troy Schumacher
Music by Phong Tran, performed by NOIS
Inspired by original illustrations by Matt Rota
Lighting design by Ben Rawson.
Dancers: Georgia Greene, Thomas Hogan, Mizuho Kappa, Keenan Kiefer*, Brooke Lutz, Arayah Lyte, Maya Milić*, Alexander Perone*, Davide Riccardo*, Alexsander Swader, Ella Titus.
*Denotes a dancer from New York City Ballet