Photos By Samantha Jane Beatty
Styling By Todd Ramos
Shot on Location at Chapman & Kirby in Eado
Hair by Zackery Chapa for Hue Salon
Makeup by Kathy Rucker for Green Apple Salon
Styling assistance by Monica Lester & Tyler Treadwell
Dr. Edward Lee and Nuveau
His latest treatment to unveil at Nuveau is UltraClear. It is the latest in anti-aging treatment taking the aesthetic industry by storm. UltraClear is the world’s first cold ablative fiber laser utilizing proprietary 3DIntelliPulse technology to optimize ablative and coagulative energy while minimizing collateral thermal impact.
This breakthrough technology enables providers to address a wide variety of aesthetic and dermatologic conditions. It is the all-in-one solution for lunchtime “prejuvenation” with 3DMIRACL, to skin quality improvement and deep collagen remodeling, and to the latest anti-aging advancement, Laser-Coring.
UltraClear Laser-Coring delivers quick laser pulses to remove micro-channels of skin. Featuring novel precise energy control, many patients experience shorter healing time and noticeable improvement after a single treatment. Laser-Coring is easily incorporated with UltraClear Resurfacing Treatments to address multiple signs of aging and enhance your rejuvenation outcomes. Moreover, Dr. Lee believes in multi-modal therapy to deliver the best possible results so that each and every patient can look and feel her best. As such, he routinely combines surgical and nonsurgical treatments, such as a combination of facelift, eyelid surgery and UltraClear laser treatment, which can be performed together to minimize recovery and downtime.
Meet with Dr. Lee and the team at Nuveau today!
Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes, Christina Jack, Destiny Fernandisse (photo by Emily Jaschke)
Such was exactly the case when Margaret Alkek Williams chaired the Opera Ball at the Wortham Center, raising a record of more than $2 million for Houston Grand Opera — with a romantic, old-school, spring-savvy “Love Is in the Air” theme, brought to life with thousands of fragrant pastel-colored florals at every turn, and a sea of ballgowns in shades of seasonal pink and green. This was the second $2 million+ ball Williams has chaired for HGO, with this year’s haul beating her own personal best from back in 2014.
A surprise highlight of the evening was a stirring performance honoring the gala’s honorees, Dian and Harlan Stai, who have supported the opera company for decades. HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor “welcomed legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade to the stage, where she performed accompanied [on piano] by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers,” noted a rep for the company. “Her moving interpretation of Stephen Sondheim’s seminal classic, ‘Send in the Clowns,’ left the audience spellbound.”
Dinner was decadent, with a chilled Romanesco soup, a pairing of prime beef and pan-seared seabass, and an chocolate explosion of a dessert, with bits of fudge cake and chocolate ice cream and mousse, all bursting from a tempered sphere — again, lavishly old school. After dinner, dancing broke out on the gleaming dance floor.
In room full of VIPs, some of the top-tier swells included Anna Dean, Anne and Albert Chao, Betty and Jesse Tutor, Brigitte Kalai, Alicia Smith, Charles and Lily Foster, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Fady Armanious, Bill Baldwin, Franklin and Cindi Rose, Hallie Vanderhider, Jim and Dancie Ware, Jim and Molly Crownover and Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman.
Brigitte Kalai, Betty Tutor and Ann Ayre (photo by Michelle Watson)
A greeter in theme-appropriate garb (photo by Michelle Watson)
Ilyas and Elizabeth Abraham (photo by Emily Jaschke)
Patrick Summers, Margaret Alkek Williams and Khori Dastoor (photo by Michelle Watson)
Frederica von Stade (photo by Michelle Watson)
Jim and Dancie Ware (photo by Michelle Watson)
Michael Broderick and Cindy and Franklin Rose (photo by Emily Jaschke)
Harlan and Dian Stai (photo by Emily Jaschke)
Jonathan and Ann Ayre and Rachel and Warren Ellsworth (photo by Michelle Watson)
Rosemin Premji, Jesse Tutor and Farida Abjani (photo by Michelle Watson)
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
The big win seems to have had a lot to the with the honorees for the evening, philanthropy all-star Y. Ping Sun and husband, David Leebron, the former president of Rice. Leebron was also recently honored by CityBook as one of the media company’s 2024 “Leaders & Legends.”
As an Asia Society rep noted: “Led by Ball Chairs Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan and Michelle and Rishi Varma, alongside Honorary Chairs Nancy C. Allen, Anne and Albert Chao and Margaret Alkek Williams, the record-breaking event welcomed 600 guests into a breathtaking showcase of red and gold.
A VIP hour for the honorees and society leadership led off the night, before the gala began in full. “Guests arriving for the main event were welcomed to the red carpet by Hanfu performers dressed in vibrant traditional Chinese attire and the rhythmic sounds of drummers stationed outside the Gala Pavilion,” noted the rep. “Inside, the Pavilion glittered in shades of rich crimson and gold with Chinese lanterns suspended above the dance floor. Taking up a large portion of the AST parking lot, the Pavilion encompassed the area’s live trees adorned with red Bougainvillea blossoms that complemented a copious amount of strikingly draped red fabric floating over dinner tables laden with bouquets of roses, tulips, amaranthus and hydrangeas.”
The food never disappoints at the Tiger Ball. This year, with inspiration from Shanghai, passed apps included tea smoked salmon on wasabi potato cakes, duck crepes with hoisin and scallions, and spicy Hunan minced quail with walnuts and orange zest on endive. For dinner, guests enjoyed a starter of five spice-roasted duck with yams, Sichuan pepper and wood ear mushroom; the entree was pan-seared sea bass with forbidden rice, scallion-braised fava beans and carrots with ginger and honey. For desset: A lavish buffet of sumptuous sweets meant as a fuel for the dancing the night away to the beats of DJ Alx.
Boldface names in the crowd included Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Theresa and Peter Chang, Anne and Albert Chao, China and Roberto Contreras IV, Molly and James Crownover, Lily and Charles Foster, Renu and Suresh Khator, Leigh and Reggie Smith, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, and Ileana and Michael Treviño.
Asia Society Texas’ mission is to advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world, the organization says.
Margaret Alkek Williams and Shawn Stephens
Dancing the night away at the Tiger Ball
Harlee McCourt, Tuu and Jim Teague, and Nathalie Roff
Durga and Sushila Agrawal
Robert Gondo and Jaewon Kang Gondo
Anant Shankar
Charles and Lily Foster
David Leebron and Y. Ping Sun