AFTER HOURS

Having a Ball

It's not at every benefit that you can stop to get your palm read, watch an aerial acrobat perform on suspended silks, or, like Amanda Hearst did, pause for a picture with a nude model reenacting Botticelli's "Birth of Venus."


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What: The Tribeca Ball, sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels, benefiting The New York Academy of Art.

When: Monday, April 8th.

Where: The New York Academy of Art at 111 Franklin Street. During cocktails, guests perused the building’s five stories of open art studios to admire, and perhaps even purchase, the students’ work on display.

Who: Despite a few high-heeled partygoers’ complaints about the treacherously steep stairs, the crowd of guests including Carolina Herrera, Cindy Sherman, and André Balazs and Chelsea Handler, was on the move all night. Olivier Theyksens, a first-timer at the ball, quietly admired the art, while honoree of the evening, Bob Colacello, fielded a slew of “congratulations.” Showing no signs of her recent ski accident Diane von Furstenberg breezily greeted old friend, Francesco Clemente, with a “Find me later!” on her way up the stairs.

Why: The annual ball never fails to surprise, with a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment possibilities. It’s not at every benefit that you can stop to get your palm read, watch an aerial acrobat perform on suspended silks, or, like Amanda Hearst did, pause for a picture with a nude model reenacting Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.”

Photos: Joe Schildhorn /BFAnyc.com