The 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala

The 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala

Thursday, October 25, 2007

George Lucas to be Honored With Prince Rainier III Award For His Outstanding Contribution To The Arts

Unprecedented Auction of Two Outfits Worn By Princess Grace

Robert Battle and Michael John Garces To Receive Princess Grace Statue Awards

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, October 25, 2007, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) will host the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala at Sotheby's New York and present 22 Awards to emerging artists in theater, dance and film, as well as two Princess Grace Statue Awards to artists who have previously won Awards and have shown achievement and growth in their respective fields. Every year, PGF-USA proudly awards these prizes at its annual gala to support its mission of providing crucial support to emerging artists in America. Additionally, PGF- USA is proud to announce that Indiana Jones and Star Wars creator George Lucas will be honored with the Prince Rainier III Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts. The 25th Anniversary Gala will take place in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and TRH The Prince and Princess of Hanover.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070827/NYM016-ahttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070827/NYM016-b )

This year's 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala will mark the jubilant culmination of the ten-day Grace, Princess of Monaco: The Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly exhibition (October 15 - 26) at Sotheby's, presented by the Consulate General of Monaco and the Monaco Government Tourist Office in New York, in close collaboration with the Princely Palace, Sotheby's and the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. The Gala will feature a live auction of two outfits worn by Princess Grace, with proceeds to benefit the Princess Grace Awards program of PGF-USA. The outfits were personally selected by Prince Albert and Princess Caroline and will be auctioned by long-time family friend and acclaimed Sotheby's auctioneer, James G. Niven.

Honoree George Lucas is being recognized for his outstanding contribution to the art of filmmaking. Mr. Lucas' accomplished artistic career spans almost 40 years and includes his work as a writer, director, producer and most significantly, creator of some of the most noteworthy movies of our generation, including the epic Indiana Jones and Star Wars series. In 2006, George Lucas' Lucasfilm Foundation donated $175 million to Lucas' alma-mater USC School of Cinematic Arts for the construction and renovations of educational buildings and to provide an endowment for the school. Two-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee James Earl Jones will introduce George Lucas at the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala.

Lucasfilm is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to motion picture and television production, the company's global businesses include visual effects, sound, video games, licensing and online activity. Mr. Lucas has also taken a leadership role in applying his technical and storytelling expertise to the classroom, engaging students through interactive multimedia environments. He is chairman of the board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation and also serves on the board of the Film Foundation and is a member of the USC School of Cinema-Television Advisory Board.

"George Lucas and this year's Princess Grace Awards recipients are the embodiment of what Princess Grace wanted her legacy to the arts to be -- creative, dynamic, passionate and generous. It is with great pleasure that we honor all of these incredible artists on the 25th Anniversary of her passing," says the Hon. John Lehman, Chairman of the Board, Princess Grace Foundation- USA.

Grace Kelly was known the world over for her iconic style. It is the Princess Grace Foundation-USA's great honor to auction two of her outfits to benefit the Awards program. The first outfit is a Givenchy-designed sleeveless dress with matching fringed bolero jacket in vivid green worn on an official 1961 visit to the White House for lunch with President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. The outfit was also worn on an official visit to her ancestral Ireland, accompanied by Prince Rainier, in June 1961. It will be sold with a coordinating hat (also worn by Princess Grace but not the one accompanying the original outfit). The second dress to be auctioned is the beautiful Helen Rose ball gown worn by a young Grace Kelly in the 1956 musical comedy, High Society. The layered gray-over-rose chiffon gown is appliquéd with rhinestones and pink and white embroidered flowers. Helen Rose was responsible for creating Princess Grace's iconic wedding dress, a gift from MGM studios, as well as the suit she wore to her civil marriage ceremony and her costumes for the films Mogambo and The Swan.

The live auction will also include: "Your Weight in Chocolate" from the Chocolaterie de Monaco and a special suite of diamond and pearl jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels. Bidding for those who are not able to attend the Gala will be available by phone through Sotheby's; please contact PGF-USA for more information. All auction proceeds will benefit Princess Grace Awards to advance its mission of providing crucial support to emerging artists in America.

PGF-USA is also pleased to announce that their renowned silent auction will take place online this year, conducted by the leading online auction venue Charity Folks. The auction will commence on Monday, October 15 and will remain open for bids through Friday, November 9. Registration is free at www.charityfolks.com/princessgrace.

Platinum Sponsor of the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards is The Clelia Haji-ioannou Foundation. Crown Sponsors include: American Airlines, Estee Lauder, Inc., Mrs. Edmond J. Safra and Van Cleef & Arpels. Other sponsors include the Chocolaterie de Monaco, James H. Coleman, Monaco Government Tourist Office, Yves G. Piaget and Sir Michael W.J. Smurfit.

Honorary Chairs for the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala are Celeste Holm, Nancy Reagan, Mrs. Frank Sinatra (Barbara) and Lynn Wyatt. The Gala Chair is Anne Hearst and the Gala Co-Chairs are Hon. Maguy Maccario Doyle, Consulate General of Monaco and Pamela Fiori, Town&Country.

The Princess Grace Awards Gala is being produced by Scott Mauro of Scott Mauro Entertainment, Inc for the third consecutive year.

Tickets for the Gala start at $1,000 for Patron tickets, $1,750 for Sponsor tickets and $2,500 for Benefactor tickets. Tables may be purchased for $15,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000. Approximately 600 guests are expected to attend. Those interested in tickets may call 866-9-EVENT-6, email maryfioreevents@verizon.net or visit www.pgfusa.org.

THE PRINCESS GRACE AWARDS AND 2007 RECIPIENTS

The first Princess Grace Awards winners were announced in 1984. To date, PGF-USA has awarded more than $5 million to support and continue excellence in the arts. The recipients are selected by a panel of experts in their respective fields -- theater, dance, and film - and the prizes awarded are in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. This year, the Princess Grace Awards will be bestowed upon 22 artists (see listing below) and give away more than $600,000.

Past winners of the Award are eligible to win the coveted Princess Grace Statue, which will be presented at this year's Gala to Robert Battle for his accomplishments in dance and Michael John Garces for his accomplishments in theater. The Award includes a $25,000 unrestricted cash gift and a special limited edition Bronze Statue of Princess Grace created by Monegasque artist Kees Verkade. Robert Battle received his original Princess Grace Award in 1993 as a student at The Juilliard School and is Artistic Director of his NYC dance company, Battleworks, which he founded in 2002. In 2005, Battle was honored as a Master of African American Choreography at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Michael John Garces received his original Princess Grace Award in 1995 with INTAR Theatre and is the Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, CA. Garces has been an award-winning freelance writer, director and performer for over sixteen years and is also a resident playwright at New Dramatists in NYC.

The 2007 Princess Grace Award winners are:

Theater
Oana Botez-Ban, Bucharest, Romania
Pierre Cardin Theater Award
Costume Design Fellowship, Classic Stage Company

Gisela Cardenas, Lima, Peru
Robert & Gloria Hausman Theater Award
Directing Fellowship, INTAR

Toccarra Cash, Dayton, OH
Acting Scholarship, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Laurie O'Brien, San Francisco, CA
Faberge Theater Award
Puppetry Arts Scholarship, CalArts

Alex Torra, Miami, FL
Grace Le Vine Theater Award
Directing Apprenticeship, Pig Iron Theater

Scott Turner Schofield, Atlanta, GA
Gant Gaither Theater Award
Acting Fellowship, 7 Stages

Kara Manning, Philadelphia, PA
Playwriting Fellowship, New Dramatists

Dance and Choreography

Andrew Bartee, Everett, WA
Dance Scholarship, Pacific Northwest Ballet School

Eric Ray Kupers, Los Angeles, CA
Choreography Fellowship, AXIS Dance Company

Brooklyn Mack, Elgin, SC
Dance Fellowship, Orlando Ballet

Sarah Kathryn Lane, Bloomfield, NY
Dance Fellowship, American Ballet Theatre

Rashaun L. Mitchell, Stamford, CT
Dance Fellowship, Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Darrell Grand Moultrie, Harlem, New York
Choreography Fellowship, Cincinnati Ballet; Cincinnati, OH

Christopher Vo, Dallas, TX
Dance Scholarship, The Juilliard School

Meredith Webster, Manitowoc, WI
Chris Hellman Dance Award
Dance Fellowship, LINES Ballet

Pavel Zustiak, Kosice, Slovakia
Choreography Fellowship, Laboratory Dance Company

Film

Maru Buendia-Senties, Mexico
Cary Grant Film Award
Graduate Film Scholarship, University of Texas- Austin

Thomas Javier Castillo, Tucson, AZ
John H. Johnson Film Award
Graduate Film Scholarship, Northwestern University

Gonzalo Escobar, Bogota, Colombia
Undergraduate Film Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Robert M. Jones, Boston, MA
Graduate Film Scholarship, American Film Institute

Elyse T. Montague, Rockland, ME
Graduate Film Scholarship, UCSD

Max Winston, Sonoma, CA
Undergraduate Film Scholarship, CalArts

Statue Awards

Robert Battle, Artistic Director, Battleworks Dance Company
Michael John Garces, Artistic Director, Cornerstone Theater Company

RELATED EVENTS

The 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala is the culmination of a series of tribute events and activities in New York this October celebrating the life and legacy of Princess Grace. Some events include:

From October 19-26, the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue will feature Grace Kelly/Princess Grace-inspired ensembles created by the world's best-known American designers. On October 24, the Consulate General of Monaco and Monaco Government Tourist Office pair with Wynn Resorts and the Societe des Bains de Mer Hotels, Spas and Casinos to create a "Casino Couture Evening" at Sotheby's. A highlight will be the final bidding of the Saks Fifth Avenue Grace Kelly/Princess Grace-inspired ensembles. For details on how the public can bid on these outfits, ticket reservation requests or other information, email Casino@VisitMonaco.com.

Inspired by the coral lipstick she wore on her wedding day to Prince Rainier on April 18, 1956, and as a tribute to the friendship Princess Grace and Mrs. Estee Lauder shared during their lifetimes, Estee Lauder has designed a special shade of its new Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick in Princess Grace Coral. From October 15, Princess Grace Coral will be available for a limited time only exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship New York City store, and online through www.saks.com and www.esteelauder.com.

For all related event details, please visit: www.aCelebrationofGrace.com

ABOUT THE PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION-USA

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982, awards scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships to assist emerging theater, dance and film artists. Some past Award winners include Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants; Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Gillian Murphy, principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre; and Eric Simonson, Academy Award winner. For more information about PGF-USA, please visit www.pgfusa.org.

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070827/NYM016-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070827/NYM016-b
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Princess Grace Foundation-USA

CONTACT: Lauren Thayer of Lisa Lori Communications, +1-212-925-2300,
thayer@lisalori.com, or Gail Parenteau of Parenteau Guidance, +1-212-532-3934,
gail@parenteauguidance.com, both for Princess Grace Foundation-USA; Christine
Kite of Princess Grace Foundation-USA, +1-212-317-1470, or ckite@pgfusa.org,
or Elle Berdy of Consulate General of Monaco, +1-212-286-0500, or
e.berdy@monaco-consulate.com, or Michelle Colligan of Redpoint Marketing PR,
Inc., +1-212-229-0119, or colligan@redpointpr.com, for Consulate General of
Monaco

Web site:

http://www.charityfolks.com/princessgrace
http://www.pgfusa.org/
http://www.acelebrationofgrace.com/

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