Mme. Eva Rubenstein & Alan Feyer |
Mr.
& Mrs. Carl Landegger |
Cesare
L. Santeremo, K.S.J. with
Mme. Licia Albenese and
Marcelo Dos Santos |
Mme.
Agnieszka Magdziak,
Consul General of Poland and
Witold Sulimirski |
John
Wegorzewski and
Countess Dagmar de Brantes |
Her
Serene Highness Grace,
Princess of Monaco, flanked by
Chev. Cesare L. Santeramo, KSJ
(left) and Chev. Robert J. Campbell,
MD, KSJ, at the 1982 Bal Polonaise
in New York honoring
Nela Rubenstein |
POLISH
ASSISTANCE
Bal Polonaise a
Tradition
In White Tie and Tails
By Edward T. Callaghan
 T’S
not often these days that we receive an invitation specifying
white tie, tails & decorations for the gentlemen and ball
gowns for the ladies. In days past heavily embossed, hand
delivered invitations for extravagant galas such the April in
Paris Ball, Tiffany Feather Ball, Le Bal Blanc and Bal Polonaise
were eagerly anticipated at the top of the social season.
Most of these grand
affairs have gone the way of bustles and trains but we are glad to
see the Bal Polonaise holds the standard high of courtly
elegance with decorations, opulent jewels and of course the Grand
Polonaise (the dance of kings, queens and nobility originating in
1573), half a century since its founding.
Thanks to the efforts of Teresa Sulimirski, the dynamic president of Polish Assistance,
the relief agency, the 47th Annual Bal Polonaise
was as steeped in tradition and high in glamour as in the
days when Her Serene Highness Grace, Princess of Monaco
led the assorted royals in The Grand Polonaise.
The honorary committee
– many of whom have been supporters of the fete since its early
days – included Count and Countess N. Bobrinskoy,
Countess Dagmar de Brantes,
Prof. and Mrs. Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Robert J. Campbell III, K.S.J.,
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Haggar, Mrs. Marta
Eggerth Kiepura, Nina Mlodzinska de Rovira and Dr. and
Mrs. Michael Sendzimir.
As always the gentlemen
escorted the ladies, couple by couple, on to the dance floor of
the Plaza’s Grand Ballroom to begin the evening with this
stately and graceful dance led by chairwoman Janina Boral
and her husband Dr. Andrew Boral.
Orchestra leader Alex
Donner, proved, once again, as adept with 16th
century music as he is with society swing.
Mme. Boral and
co-chairs Ela Sulimirski Landegger and
Cesare L. Santeramo K.S.J. gathered together
a glittering crowd of Polish aristocracy to pay tribute to Eva
Rubenstein, the evening’s guest of honor, daughter of the
late Aniela Mlynarska and famed concert pianist Arthur
Rubenstein, long supporters of the ball.
They also honored Bohdan
de Rosset with the organization’s White Eagle Award for his
major contribution to Polish Assistance since 1956.
Mme. Luna Kaufman
and two divas assolutas Mme. Licia Albenese and Mme.
Anna Moffo, Dr. Mircea and Jawiga Padale, Dr.
Joseph and Marriola Gorska Haggar, Carl and Rene Landegger,
John Wegorzewski with Countess Dagmar de Brantes
and Richard and Misha Laskowski and the
Honorable Mrs. Agnieszka Magdziak,
Consul General of Poland were
among the glittering crowd who
applauded the honorees and cheered loudly the fancy
footwork of the colorfully clad Polish American Folk Dance
Company.
When the final cords had
been played, the guests received gift bags courtesy of Andrew and
Janina Boral, Adamba Imports and Estee Lauder
in keeping with their longtime support for the gala. |
