Let’s see who showed up to support the ballet

During awards season all the dance and opera girlies got mad at Timothee Chalamet for basically calling ballet and opera dying arts (statistics show he’s not entirely wrong, they’re definitely financially challenged on an institutional level). Well, everyone who got mad at Timmy for saying ballet is not a mainstream art form had a chance to prove him wrong, and SOME people did put their fancy outfits where their mouths are. The New York City Ballet Spring Gala was last night. It’s a fundraising event, so who showed up to support ballet in the 21^st century?

The following people have the right to yell back at Timothee Chalamet:

Mick Jagger and Melanie Hamrick

Diane Kruger and Norman Reedus

Fran Drescher

Emmy Rossum

Ashley Graham

Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl (remember her cool wedding outfit?!)

The Pitt season two star Laëtitia Hollard (aka baby nurse Emma)

Honestly, I would buy a ticket to a fundraising event that was just Mick Jagger and/or Norman Reedus yelling at Timothee Chalamet about the importance of supporting the arts. Time to get creative with your fundraisers, ballet and opera companies!

The NYC Ballet Spring Gala featured principal dancer Tiler Peck’s second commissioned piece for the company. If you are at all interested in what is going on in ballet in the 21^st century, Tiler Peck has a documentary called Ballet Now (streaming on Hulu), which is from 2018 and chronicles her effort programming the BalletNOW program in Los Angeles. Even knowing nothing about ballet, it was cool and interesting to see how Peck organized her showcase to honor the roots of classical ballet while also embracing modern dance and even clowning.

If you believe in the arts, then you have to support the arts. Every once in a while, I am seized by a desire to embrace living in a city with world class institutions and go to the Joffrey Ballet or the Lyric Opera and just see what they’re up to. I will not claim to be a ballet or opera girlie, but I have never once regretted the decision to go to the ballet or the opera. And you’d be surprised how affordable the tickets can be! They’re not as inaccessible to audiences as people think.

It’s not that Timmy said anything wrong, per se, it was the reverse snobbery of his tone, like these ancient arts aren’t worth defending just because they’ve fallen into niche status. Anyway, these are Timmy’s fellow celebrities who can yell back at him about supporting the arts, because they showed up to support the arts, even if ballet isn’t blockbuster entertainment. It’s not less valuable just because it’s less widely popular. THAT was my problem with Timmy’s comments.

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What else happened today…

Model Winnie Harlow, who has vitiligo, talks about confidence, self-love, and inner beauty. (Popsugar)

All the people who showed up at stuff other than the Met Gala this week. Pretty great fringe on Allison Janney! (Go Fug Yourself)

Gwyneth Paltrow is calling out “super rich white dudes” for selling a “nothing matters” culture. She’s not wrong, but also…is it JUST super rich white DUDES, Gwyneth? Is it? Gwyneth, what are you selling? What are you selling, Gwyneth? Because there’s more than a little nihilism, particularly that no individual decision you make could have consequences for anyone else, in the white woman wellness movement, Gwyneth. Who’s the face of the white woman wellness movement, GWYNETH? (Celebitchy)

KJ Apa, the once and future Archie, is having a fight with his own alter ego, Mr. Fantasy. Jobless behavior, frankly. He’s employed (he’s actually prepping a Sublime biopic with Justin Chon, intriguing), but this is still jobless behavior. I am always impressed by the ability of men to be working and yet still act so extremely unemployed. Anyway, maybe give KJ Apa some crumbs before he melts down. (The Hollywood Reporter)