Luxe Life Blog

Marie Osmond to be honored as Woman of the Year at NBT gala

Posted January 22, 2010 • 11:07 a.m.

Marie Osmond celebrates the launch of her Marie Lifestyle Collection of accessories and home decor at the Hallmark Gold Crown in Henderson on Nov. 21, 2009.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

When Marie Osmond signed on with brother Donny to become resident headliners at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, she really took it to heart and moved here to set up her permanent home. Her involvement in the community and her continuing charitable work have made an incredible mark here.

Now Nevada Ballet Theater will honor her tomorrow as its Woman of the Year at the annual Black & White Gala in the Champagne Ballroom of the Paris. The ballet’s company and Tony Delgado’s ballroom dancers will perform, along with a special musical tribute by Mosaic to Marie before the presentation. I’ll be there to help with the Jimmy Kimmel raffle drawing and a special fundraising effort.

Marie told Vegas DeLuxe last night: “To put it simply, I’m incredibly honored to be honored. To be thought of as a woman who has made contributions to the performing arts is a great compliment. There is nothing better than having an opportunity to do a live show with an audience. Donny and I are having that incredible experience once again performing five nights a week at the Flamingo showroom. I can tell that our audiences get caught up in the enthusiasm, as well.”

I asked Marie if she’d ever taken ballet or dance classes as a youngster. She said: “My parents hired the best dance coaches available to teach my brothers and me when we were very young. We learned group choreography that was used in our tours as The Osmonds. I took a few ballet lessons in my teen years, but nothing extensive. In fact, the only part of me that ‘extended’ well was my neck. One of the teachers told me, ‘You have a beautiful ballerina neck.’ I think that was their way of saying, “But the rest of you is totally non-ballerina!

““My own children all have strong artistic expressions. Every one of my children has loved to paint and draw. My daughters are enrolled in dance training. Three of my children play more than one musical instrument, and my 7-year-old just started piano lessons. You can find quite a few studies that show undoubted links between arts education and academic achievement. Even the great scientists say that they imagined their discoveries first through an artistic means.”

Since relocating her home to Las Vegas for the shows at the Flamingo, Marie has discovered that it’s a great place for her children and for her favorite charity. “For family-style fun, the kids and I love to go to the go-cart courses here in Vegas. As far as racing goes, I can get my Danica Patrick mode on pretty quickly,” she laughed.

“Every day I encourage my children to be involved in the arts. Las Vegas is a great place for that and a great place to visit with kids. The ballet, museums, art galleries, music and the shows on the Strip are the best. Oh, yeah, the shopping can reach what I would call a creative bliss, as well!

“I still devote my time to the charity I co-founded 26 years ago, Children’s Miracle Network. Right now, we are focusing on bringing children who have been injured in the Haiti earthquake into the States to be treated at one of our Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. It’s a major undertaking, but one thing I can be certain of is this: The doctors and staff of our Children’s Hospitals will do anything to save the life of any child.”

Yesterday, NBT also launched its new community involvement fundraising campaign Spread the Dance. You’ll recognize Las Vegas personalities who joined with Rita Rudner’s testimonial in the promo spots. If you think we’re far from graceful and remind of a hippo in the zoo, I don’t blame you!

Check out the initial video on YouTube:

To play videos inline, you need to install the Flash player.

Spread the Dance - from YouTube.com

A second round of filming is about to get underway with more Las Vegas VIPs, including one platinum blonde bombshell I asked to participate, plus a sports star, a comedy star and a politician all risking reputations to fly through the air with the greatest of ease. We’ll tip you to their identities just before their campaign spots are ready to air.

We asked Marie if NBT’s new Woman of the Year really felt like a true Las Vegan now after months of performing on the Strip. She summed up: “All I can say is when the airplane I’m on is nearing McCarran Airport, I always look out over the city and think: “Ah, I’m home.’ ”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Link Share This