“The playlist is on Greer’s iPod!” said Alyson Blume, San Francisco Ballet Encore Gala chair, on Wednesday, January 22, as she stood inside City Hall’s South Light Court beside vice chair Greer Goings. The two co-hosted a lively celebration that took place while the ballet’s supporters all gathered to toast the opening night of the company’s 2014 repertory season. Guests draped themselves on French-inspired décor and gathered around the antique bar installed inside City Hall, while the playlists created by the Encore Gala chairs provided a soundtrack. CeeLo Green‘s “Forget You” and a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” by South Wales bluegrass band The Beef Seeds rang out as dance fans arrived for the party. The ballet may be the country’s oldest professional company, but Encore—the group comprised of the organization’s youngest supporters—held the evening’s most rousing cocktail party preceding the opening night performances.

Goings’ mp3 player wasn’t the only item on loan for the night. She confided that her crimson Carmen Marc Valvo gown was actually borrowed. “I have a San Francisco closet,” Goings laughed, “There’s no way I could fit pieces like this in there.” Both women eagerly anticipated the first performance of the evening, the pas de cinq from the first act of Artistic Director Helgi Tómasson’s Giselle. Blume was only four years old when she first saw Tómasson’s choreography for the storied work in 1999. Similarly, Goings was also only four when she first saw the ballet performed in Chicago. “My mother used to purchase a single ticket for an aisle seat,” Goings said. “She would sit me on the aisle staircase next to her and we would watch the ballet together. You can’t do that anymore!”

By Jennifer McCullum

Pictured: Greer Goings and Alyson Blume at the Encore Gala reception for the San Francisco Ballet’s opening night.
Credit: Vasna Wilson for Drew Altizer Photography