In 2018, this event’s attendance soared to a record high of 275 guests. A creative and artistic crowd eagerly anticipated this annual gala, which celebrates the work of the Ruth Page Foundation, its Performing Arts Center and its nationally-recognized School of Dance.

The gala also celebrated the continuing cultural exchange between Cuba’s National School of Ballet and the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, the first of its kind. Through that partnership, a talented dancer from the Ruth Page Center trained in Havana. At the gala, the Ruth Page Center made another history-making announcement – that dancer not only completed her training in Cuba, but recently received an offer to dance in Cuba’s internationally-renowned National Ballet Company! She flew in from Cuba to present the Distinguished Service Award to a beloved teacher at the school.

Held at the beautiful Union League Club of Chicago, the annual gala featured a VIP reception, live jazz combo, dinner, dance performances, silent and live auctions, pledge appeal, and a packed dance floor. WGN TV’s Micah Materre served as Mistress of Ceremonies.