When The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Ashlee Margolis last fall to discuss her company’s 15th birthday, the founder of The A-List — a diversified fashion, events and marketing firm located in Beverly Hills — revealed the best advice she’s ever given to her staff: “Work hard, be nice to everyone, stay positive and let’s have fun. And maybe do a little dance.”
Clearly, Margolis lives by her word as she applied the same simple suggestions to another special anniversary that went down last weekend as the mother of two celebrated her 40th birthday with a blowout bash in L.A. at her childhood home. Guests included such stars as Jessica Alba, Kourtney Kardashian, Nicole Richie, Rashida Jones, Harry Styles, Mandy Moore, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ellen Pompeo, Isla Fisher, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ashley Madekwe and James Marsden, along with top industry names like Gersh’s Leslie Siebert, Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Andrea Pett-Joseph, Plan B’s Jeremy Kleiner and FX’s Eric Schrier.
So exactly how did she swing the advice into action? Margolis surprised the revelers in the backyard by jumping on a makeshift stage and performing a choreographed dance number with two male backup dancers. Margolis worked hard (rehearsed for six hours two days before the event, plus a dress rehearsal the night before); was nice to everyone (more than 400 people attended the celebratory affair); stayed positive (kept grinning from ear to ear during the two-minute number); had fun (courtesy of specialty cocktails by Don Julio and Ketel One and desserts by Coolhaus); and did a little dance (see Instagram evidence below).
As for the music, Margolis (outfitted in a shiny black number designed by her clients Brian Wolk and Claude Morais of the L.A.-based brand Wolk Morais) and the men moved to a mashup of three songs: “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “Latch” by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith, and “This is What You Came For” by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna. But about the choreography: Margolis made sure to be on point by teaming with Pussycat Dolls Founder Robin Antin, who delivered the steps along with Kenny Wormald.
Antin told THR that she and Margolis have been friends for a long time, and when they bumped into each other recently at Minka Kelly’s birthday party (she turned 36 on June 24), Margolis asked for her help. “She knew that I could help her find the confidence to perform since this was her first time ever doing anything like this, and teach her the choreography in a way that wasn’t complicated,” Antin explained. “So we ended up having so much fun in the process.”
Looks like it.
