“Tonight is what I call menu night: You get a little taste of what the company does throughout the season,” said socialite and American Ballet Theater board member Blaine Trump during intermission at the company’s opening night and spring gala at the Metropolitan Opera House on Monday, May 19. “To be honest, I always thought I was going to be a ballerina when I grew up,” she added. “And I am still hoping it will happen someday!”
Ms. Trump was not alone in rhapsodizing about Capezio flats and tutus after the elaborate performances, which featured company members Irina Dvorovenko and David Hallberg in intricate costumes. “I was taking ballet till I was about 10,” said the designer Tory Burch. “But then the toe shoes came and that was about it for me.”
“I took ballet for about six years when I was growing up, but I was no swan,” said 5-foot-9 model Molly Sims. “I had a very pretty pink tutu, but I didn’t know my left foot from my right foot.” The leggy lady admitted to being envious of the dancers: “Their bodies are just perfectly sculpted—of course I’m jealous!”
Speaking of bodies: Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Vanessa Trump, was eager to tell Ms. Sims about her postpartum weight loss. “Sixty pounds!” she proudly declared. (Kai, a girl, was born in May 2007.) “Being a mom is like the hardest job, but it’s the best work; just seeing her say mama and wanting you to hold her,” Ms. Trump said as Ms. Sims smiled and tilted her head understandingly.
More Trumps! Donald Sr. arrived with wife Melania, wearing a black backless gown with an empire waist by Versace. NBC morning guy Matt Lauer, with wife Annette Roque, said he enjoyed the performance quite a bit, despite not really knowing his way around a plié. “Do I look like the kind of guy that did ballet?” he asked the Transom. Sorry we asked, sir….
Meanwhile, Taylor Momsen, who plays improbably impoverished Brooklyn private school brat Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, arrived with her parents, wearing a gown that appeared a bit roomy on her 14-year-old frame. “It’s wild, I love New York,” said Ms. Momsen, who grew up in St. Louis. “There is just so much to do.” The actress took ballet for nine years. “I started when I was 3, when it was all about tutus and stuff, so I didn’t really know what I was doing,” she said, marveling at the show: “The clothes and the dancing and the legs in the air!”
