First Annual Benefit Dinner May 19th, 1998 - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Beneficiary Cause St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Proceeds of the Inaugural Benefit Gala went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The Hospital was selected because of its dedication to research and treatment of catastrophic childhood illnesses worldwide. The Foundation’s Benefit Gala allowed it to make a donation of $500,000 to support the Fund for Arab Children at the Hospital.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the first institution established solely to conduct basic and clinical research into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer. In terms of patients enrolled and successfully treated, St. Jude Hospital is the largest childhood cancer research center in the United States. Over fifteen thousand children from forty eight states and sixty foreign countries have been treated. The Hospital is non-sectarian and accepts children without regard to race, creed or ability to pay. St. Jude’s patients must be referred by a physician, have not received extensive prior treatment and have a disease currently under study at the Hospital. Research findings discovered at St. Jude are shared freely with doctors and scientists throughout the world. The Hospital was founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas.
Artistic Presentation Caracalla Dance Theatre
On the occasion of the U.S. debut of the Caracalla Dance Theatre, the Washington Post’s dance critic, Alan Kriegsman, commented that “Caracalla has a fine historic sense … Dancers are beautifully trained. The women’s movements are as volatile as flame and their arms and hands swirl with the delicacy of tropical fish … A return visit would be much welcomed.” The New York Times’ Jennifer Dunning wrote that ”Caracalla wove exciting line dances … Costumes were colorful and the dancers lively, good-looking and most engaging.”
In 1970, Abdel-Halim Caracalla founded what would evolve into the first and most prominent theater in the Middle East — the Caracalla Dance Theatre. Inspired choreography and original costumes combine to create Caracalla’s uniquely energetic balletic style. The company’s continued success makes it a permanent visitor on the stages of every continent. The Theatre of thirty dancers is noted for many authentically researched full-length productions: Mystery of the Bizarre (1974), The Black Tents (1978), Shot of Glory (1980), Taming of the Shrew (1982), Echoes (1985) and Oriental MidsummerNight’s Dream (1990).
