A Bollywood Ball was held March 7 at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.
By
Harry Sayer
| 12:30 a.m. March 8, 2020
Black Tie
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The Asolo Repertory Theatre transformed the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota into a vibrant Bollywood showcase during its annual gala on March 7.
This year's "A Bollywood Ball" theme paid tribute to India's lively and colorful film industry starting with the reception, which boasted three signature drinks, a henna-painting station and a snake-charmer for guests to take photos with. Attendees eventually made their way to the ballroom — which had 10 different fabric colors that matched the flowers on each table — for the dinner. Proceeds from the night benefit the company's educational and community programs.
The program concluded with an extensive performance from a number of different groups including the five-piece Indian band Jashn, Shivali Bhammer and Navin Kundra, and Bollywood Touch.
Attendees ended the night by rushing onto the dance floor to dance the night away. An after-party was held at Lemon Tree Kitchen.
Co-Chairwomen Donna Koffman, Elisabeth Waters, Tammy Karp and Mary Braxton-Joseph
Guests were welcomed by The Gateway to India.
Guests were quickly met by an elephant statue.
Kamila the snake charmer and Meeru Fendt
Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards with Orlando Sánchez
Event Planner Laura Stuart Wood
Shamini and Sheena Maini
Harry Leopold and Audrey Robbins with James Jordan and John Kosa
Marium Suleman, Himani Sivani and Amna Khan
Kamila the snake charmer
Performers entertained guests during the cocktail hour.
400 guests attended the event.
The table centerpieces had assortment of colorful roses.
The night had colorful, vibrant decor.
The table centerpieces had an assortment of colorful roses.
Daria Fairchild and Donna Koffman
Deb Kabinoff, Margaret Wise and Bill Evans
ELita Kane, Joan Engelbach, Dean Eisner and Jennie Lascelle
Ramesh Johnnoi and Monica Desai of Bollywood Touch
Betty Conard and Mona Jain
The five-piece Jashn band kept the night going.
Rita Thibault, Gary Kirschner and Charlotte Stewart
Ritu Anand, Ginny and Ravi Akhoury and Harry Anand
Benjamin Luczak and Jimy Raymond with Jamie and Nick Luczak
Bill and Bonnie Chapman with Sally Schule
Chris and Kurt Voelker with Elizabeth Butler
Linda Krysinski
Susan and Zuheir Sofia
Shane and Allison LaMay
Larry and Marie Bowman
Jaclyn Brunckhorst, Brian Mariash, Clara Reynardus de Villanueva and Lissa Murphy
Shivali Bhammer and Navin Kundra
Douglas and Shari Phillips
Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards
Co-Chairwomen Elisabeth Waters, Donna Koffman, Mary Braxton-Joseph and Tammy Karp pumped the crowd up.
James Jordan, Bo the dog and Claudia McCorkle hit the dance floor early.
