Best Out On A Whim turnout and proceeds so far! Whim W’Him‘s big fund-raising event of the season began with two silent auctions of fine art, tickets to arts events, and various experiences. These, plus a mini-live-auction of six items—including a Mark Tobey contributed by John Braseth and a year of monthly pampering at Gene Juarez—as well as a “paddle-raising,” presided over by Jolene McCaw & Joyce Taylor of KING-5, exceeded expectations by least 135%!—and the numbers are still coming in…
 Complimentary wine and beer at OOAW#4 flowed in an atmosphere at once laid back and electric.
Food was seriously good. Extra-tender chicken and beef, yummy side-dishes (in particular a nice risotto) and delectable desserts (my favorite: a rich, creamy chocolate mousse).
The bottom line? People were really having fun.
Having seen Olivier Wevers’s Coquette in rehearsal and onstage numerous times by now, I thought this was its hottest, funniest, and best danced performance of the piece yet. The bizarre musical accompaniment is sung in French—apparently by a demented baby—to a burlesque show beat.

Kylie Shea Lewallen & Ty Alexander Cheng‘s surprisingly subtle facial expressions and scorching body language turned incandescent the whole silly, yet oddly affecting piece.

 

And then the dancing bug spread to the audience (DJ Eric Ross). The Bambergs and Molly Magee, Joyce and Jolene danced up a storm. Watching his parents move, you know that Lucien Postlewaite—there via text messages and at one point a disembodied voice over the loudspeaker—comes by his artistry honestly. Other standouts from my vantage point were Whim W’Him dancers Jim Kent, Amber Willet (in ruby slippers), and Kaori Nakamura; a tall couple (she in a long black dress with a plunging neckline); a suave, compact couple of un certain age and smooth, silky style; a slight, slim guy in checked shirt and pork pie hat. Across the packed dance floor, I also got intriguing glimpses of Tory Peil, Vincent Lopez, and more Whim W’Him dancers, along with  a woman in red. Dancers (upper case), dancers, friends/relatives, lovers of dance, Whimmers all, came together to celebrate, enthralled by the joy of dancing.
Around midnight, with a couple dozen diehards still on the floor, the evening’s choreographed program finished off with the pop of a champagne cork, as Lily Verlaine and an up-tight-looking swain-with-briefcase, indulged in antics that slid waaay along toward the far end of the scale from risqué to raunchy. When G and I finally left, dance music had started up again, and a few indefatigable enthusiasts were swarming back onto the dance floor.
What talent…
What stamina…
What a night!
 Next up: New Whim W’Him dancers Amber Willet, Kyle Johnson & Mia Monteabaro