43 Photos of Mad Hot Fashion From Inside This Year’s Mad Hot Ballet Gala

By Meghan McKenna

Date June 14, 2019

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Opulent displays of style and grace filled the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts at Wednesday night’s Mad Hot Ballet: Desert Dream — even before the ballerinas took to the stage. The annual fundraising event for The National Ballet of Canada, which raised $1.2 million this year, brought together 1,800 of Toronto’s most elegant arts enthusiasts to take in the tastes, textures and vibrant colours of Morocco, the theme of this year’s event.

The evening began with an hour-long performance featuring a preview of a new work by Choreographic Associate Robert Binet, Dialogue Dances, performed by Principal Dancers Skylar Campbell and Xiao Nan Yu, First Soloist Hannah Fischer and Second Soloist Spencer Hack. The performance later concluded with a pas de deux from The Merry Widow, danced beautifully by Principal Dancers Guillaume Côté and Ms. Yu, who retires after 22 years with the company at the end of the season.

The performances — as well as the generously flowing food and cocktails that followed — were, as always, delightful. The real fun, however, was the people watching. Specifically, spotting one of the company’s dancers in the crowded rooms. After they grand jetéd and arabesqued across the stage, the ballerinas changed out of their tutus and joined the audience, almost blending in with the chatty crowd of couture-clad attendees. Click through the gallery below, and see if you can spot one. There’s just one small clue that gives the performers away: impeccable posture.