Scene Last Night: Paltrow, Karan, Avery, Sims, Jessica Seinfeld
Besides her glowing skin and svelte figure, Gwyneth Paltrow offered other reasons for doing yoga last night.
“It’s an amazing practice that has benefited both me and my husband,” said Paltrow, wearing a gray Alexander Wang dress. “It’s such a simple and powerful thing.”
Paltrow was speaking at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Center as an honoree of the third annual Bent on Learning gala. The nonprofit, with an annual budget of $425,000, teaches yoga to children enrolled in 20 New York City public schools. It also counts Eddie Stern, Paltrow’s yoga guru, as one of its board members.
Russell Simmons, the other honoree, gave a specific example of how yoga comes in handy in the workplace.
“If you can put your foot behind your head and smile and breathe, then someone can yell at you and you can keep your composure,” the music and fashion mogul said from his dinner table, which was decorated with bowls of pink peonies.
“It helps you do your homework,” said Brianna Flores, an 11-year-old who attends P.S. 132 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “If you do the camel pose, it helps you think more.”
Flores and her classmates then demonstrated the camel pose on the deck of the Urban Zen Center’s garden, while adults around them bellied up to the bar for thyme lemonade. The camel involves bending backward from a kneeling position and touching your ankles with your hands.
Lacto-Vegetarian Dinner
Later, the students performed their moves inside, on the mat-covered stage, as New York Rangers winger Sean Avery, Baby Buggy founder Jessica Seinfeld and model Molly Sims settled into a lacto-vegetarian dinner featuring roasted abalone mushroom tatin.
The health-minded event also included a live auction conducted by Lydia Fenet of Christie’s. Among the treats Fenet sold were a 21-day deep cleanse, a package with Madonna and Paltrow trainer Tracy Anderson, and a vegan dinner with Stern and the artist Francesco Clemente.
Paltrow also got into the auction game. “I don’t think we raised quite enough money,” she said at the end of her brief acceptance speech. She then offered two tickets to see “Glee Live! In Concert!” tonight at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“Bring your kid, I’ll send a car, and we’ll go backstage,” Paltrow said. “Where’s that hot auction lady?”
Fenet came back on stage and helped sell the package for $10,000.
Paltrow also gave the Bent on Learning students hugs and autographs that included hearts.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net or on Twitter at @amandagordon.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Scene Last Night 2011
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gwyneth Paltrow at the Bent on Learning benefit with P.S. 132 students Laurarose Arroyo, Camryn Adjodha, Coy Garrett, Theresa Fevola and Christian Cintron.
Gwyneth Paltrow at the Bent on Learning benefit with P.S. 132 students Laurarose Arroyo, Camryn Adjodha, Coy Garrett, Theresa Fevola and Christian Cintron. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Gwyneth Paltrow with Eddie Stern, Jocelyn Stern and their daughter.
Gwyneth Paltrow with Eddie Stern, Jocelyn Stern and their daughter. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Russell Simmons and Donna Karan. Photographer: Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
The dinner tables were covered in pink cloths and matching peonies.
The dinner tables were covered in pink cloths and matching peonies. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Stacey Bendet, designer and founder of alice + olivia. Bendet's company sponsored the Bent on Learning benefit.
Stacey Bendet, designer and founder of alice + olivia. Bendet's company sponsored the Bent on Learning benefit. Photographer: Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Sean Avery and Hilary Rhoda.
Sean Avery and Hilary Rhoda. Photographer: Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
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Christian Cintron and Brianna Flores demonstrate the camel pose in the garden of the Urban Zen Center.
Christian Cintron and Brianna Flores demonstrate the camel pose in the garden of the Urban Zen Center. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Ali Wentworth and Jessica Seinfeld.
Ali Wentworth and Jessica Seinfeld. Photographer: Billy Farrell/Billy Farrell Agency via Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
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Coppy Holzman, CEO and co-founder, Charitybuzz; Lydia Fenet, senior vice president and director of strategic partnerships, Christie's, and Mary Giuliani, a celebrity caterer.
Coppy Holzman, CEO and co-founder, Charitybuzz; Lydia Fenet, senior vice president and director of strategic partnerships, Christie's, and Mary Giuliani, a celebrity caterer. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
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Robin Renzi, jewelry designer and CEO at Me&Ro, and Darrell Maupin, owner of a nightclub in Tanzania, Africa.
Robin Renzi, jewelry designer and CEO at Me&Ro, and Darrell Maupin, owner of a nightclub in Tanzania, Africa. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
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Jennifer Ford, development director, and Anne Desmond, executive director, of Bent on Learning.
Jennifer Ford, development director, and Anne Desmond, executive director, of Bent on Learning. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bent on Learning
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"Gossip Girl"'s Kelly Rutherford and Marcus A. Ernst, managing partner, Ernst & Linder.
"Gossip Girl"'s Kelly Rutherford and Marcus A. Ernst, managing partner, Ernst & Linder. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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