Ballets With A Twist Performs COCKTAIL HOUR: THE SHOW

Ballets with a Twist stays close to home this summer with performances of Cocktail Hour: The Show in White Plains and Westhampton Beach. Each engagement will showcase different selections from the company's repertory.

The White Plains Performing Arts Center (11 City Place, 3rdFloor, White Plains) presents the company on Saturday, June 16, at 8pm. Engagement highlights:

The dance cocktail "Soirée" will premiere. A lady in rose, a pair of young lovers and two celestial souls glide through the night in this fanciful triptych.

·the company has invited talented young students from Scarsdale's Central Park Dance studio to rehearse and appear on stage with the professionals, filling children's roles in the production.

General admission tickets are $27-46. To purchase, go to wppac.com, call 914-328-1600, or visit the box office.

The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach) presents the company on Saturday, August 25, at 8pm. Engagement highlights:

The performance will feature the company's own B-Twist Orchestra, a collection of internationally acclaimed musicians.

Throughout the evening, a special selection of cocktails and mocktails complementing the program will be available in the lobby.

General admission tickets are $55-70. To purchase, go to whbpac.org, call 631-288-1500, or visit the box office.

Created by artistic director and choreographer Marilyn Klaus, Cocktail Hour: The Show reinvents the glamour and excitement of classic entertainment with an original mix of charismatic choreography, intoxicating music and exquisite costume design. This pop-infused performing arts experience combines the magnetism of Hollywood's Golden Age with a sleek twenty-first-century sensibility, capturing the timeless American spirit in a series of witty, sparkling vignettes. It's high-style fun for all ages to enjoy.

Klaus, whose choreography has been seen internationally, formed Ballets with a Twist in association with Grammy-nominated composer Stephen Gaboury and costume designer Catherine Zehr. Her company - lauded by The Huffington Post for "blasting the boundaries between high art and entertainment" - has appeared in a wide range of venues throughout the country, from Cleveland's Playhouse Square and New York City's Beacon Theatre to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Tribeca Film Festival.

Gaboury's compositions have been performed by celebrated musicians nationwide. As a pianist, he has collaborated and toured the world with pop/rock icon Cyndi Lauper for more than a decade; has accompanied such artists as Patti LaBelle, Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan; and has performed at internationally televised events such as the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony and the New Years Eve Times Square Ball Drop. Gaboury's music has been heard in concert, on television and in films (including Boyhood and American Beauty).

Zehr is the artistic force behind the company's costume design. Her creations evoke the origins and essence of each dance with dazzling colors and ornamentation. Zehr honed her skills while working at major American fashion houses, then by designing and manufacturing attire for her own label. She studied art and design at Washington University and New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, where she and the company delivered the presentation "Designing Costumes for Ballets with a Twist" as part of The Museum at FIT's Fashion Culture series.

Craving more Twist culture? Visit balletswithatwist.com.

Under Gaboury's direction, the B-Twist Orchestra has appeared with the company at the Beacon Theatre, the St. George Theatre and other venues in New York City. Collectively, the band's members have performed with headliners including Elton John, Beyoncé, James Taylor, Miles Davis and Paul Simon, to name only a few; at events ranging from the Kennedy Center Honors and presidential inaugurations to the Grammys; and on television programs such as The Today Show and Good Morning America.

The White Plains Performing Arts Center (WPPAC) provides residents of White Plains and the surrounding communities an easily accessible, intimate and comfortable setting in which to see LIVE entertainment in the heart of Westchester County. For information, visit wppac.com.

The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC) presents world-class music, dance and comedy performances as well as the finest in cinema from around the world. For more information, visit whbpac.org.