Black Tie Affair

DJ Spinderella mixing it up at Ballet Austin's annual Fête and fête*ish

Spinderella will headline Ballet Austin's gala on Friday, Sept. 21
Mandy Lauderdale
Photo by: George Brainard

Grammy Award winner DJ Spinderella is headed to Texas to headline Ballet Austin’s Fête & fête*ish 2012 this Friday.

Ballet Austin’s annual Fête and the notorious fête*ish open the Company’s performance season and Austin’s gala line-up, with an elegant experience of fine dining, dancing and decadence. The gala, hailed by the Austin American-Statesman as Austin’s “best black tie” event, will also feature performances by cabaret jazz artist Mandy Lauderdale and Austin’s always entertaining and outrageous The Invincible Czars.

The event gathers business leaders, social mavens and arts patrons of all ages to mix, mingle, dine and dance, and to raise funds for Ballet Austin’s community education programs, which serve more than 57,000 Central Texans each year.

Ballet Austin chose The Driskill Hotel to commemorate this milestone year, the golden anniversary of Austin’s favorite holiday tradition, The Nutcracker. Marking a significant milestone for The Driskill as well, the iconic hotel this year is celebrating its Victorian-era opening 125 years ago.

Headlining the event is DJ Spinderella from Salt-N-Pepa. The Grammy award-winning DJ, producer, rapper, writer and mother is one of the original pioneers of hip hop music. As a member of Salt-N-Pepa, she sold over 15 million albums and singles worldwide.

More than two decades after her groundbreaking entrance into hip hop, the Brooklyn native still sets the standard for “turntablisits” all over the world. “I’ve been blessed to be in the game for so many years, when many others have come and gone,” says Spinderella.

With a limited 220 seats available, guests will enjoy Nutcracker-inspired custom cocktails and a signature multi-course themed cuisine by The Driskill Hotel, as well as live entertainment and exclusive access to the VIP Ballet Barre & lounge filled with dreamy sweets, worldly treats and glistening surprises at fête*ish.

“Ballet Austin's Fête outdoes itself every year," says Alex Winkelman, the 2012 fête*ish committee chair.

"The extravagant black tie gala keeps the nonprofit's mission in mind as the fundraiser travels through The Nutcracker with an exclusive seated dinner and then on to the larger and notorious fête*ish. This year's fête*ish will involve all senses with themed bites, cocktails, performances and decor. This one-of-a-kind night stands out from all others for Austin's top philanthropists as it continues to push the limits.”

The festivities begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, and at 8 p.m., fête*ish turns up the volume and turns down the lights with exquisite morsels, libations, and dancing ignited by Spinderella, Mandy Lauderdale and The Invincible Czars. With lavishly sweet surprises around every corner, fête*ish holds its guests captivated until the clock strikes midnight.

A few tickets are still available for Friday's soiree. Visit the Ballet Austin website, or call 512-476-2163 for more information.

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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