Byham Center for Dance’s Grand Opening Reception

#PittsburghPossible: Pittsburgh is known for pulling together and making magic happen, and it did with the grand opening of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Byham Center for Dance at 2900 Liberty Ave., Strip District. Festivities were happening all week to showcase the new space, which will house dance classes, rehearsals, a Pilates studio and much more. Patrons who went the extra mile, such as Bill and Carolyn Byham, Chris and Dawn Fleischner, Bill and Vivian Benter, Richard Rauh, Melanie Crockard and many more, were invited to a private patrons’ party to celebrate the new space on Saturday night. “The completion of this project has given us the confidence to realize that there is no end in sight. We have already filled these studio spaces to the brim, as though they were always here,” said PBT’s executive director Harris Ferris. “We’ve raised $16.2 milion to make this happen, and I’m just so proud of everyone, including our amazing dancers, who have stepped up and are exhilarated by the process of making this dream come into fruition.” Guests enjoyed the inaugural PBT company performance in the Fleischner Family Studio before heading upstairs to the Catharine and John Ryan Studio (a stunning space with a wall of windows overlooking the Strip District), for a cocktail party. “Next up we want to put a patio on top of the roof,” said board chair Mark Popovich with wife Chris. “But nobody knows that yet,” he added. Look’s like the cat’s out of the bag!

#SEENCelebrating: Artistic director Terrence Orr, Hans and Leslie Fleischner, Ted Wiegand and Tacy Byham, Carter Byham and Tamara Pavlok, Mark Flaherty and Mary McKinney, Peter Taglianetti and Dr. Vonda Wright, Ernest Tolentino with daughter Eliana, Linda Desch, Michael and Catherine Haggerty, Marino and Catiana Harris, Janet Ferris and Mia Bernard.