NYC Department of Transportation Presents COCKTAIL HOUR: THE SHOW During 12th Annual Summer Streets

Tribeca-based company Ballets with a Twist joins the line-up of local entertainment during the New York City Department of Transportation's twelfth annual Summer Streets with a performance of Cocktail Hour: The Show on August 10 at 12pm. The event will take place at the Astor Place Rest Stop stage (Astor Place and Lafayette Street) as part of the first ever Summer Streets Dance Festival. Brooklyn's L Train Brass Band will also be on the scene, providing live music for several dance cocktail selections.

All Summer Streets events are free. The route map, the full list of activities, and more can be found at nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets.

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 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, most recently joining her alongside the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at its historic home venue. He has also 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 Year's 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 City'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.

Since its humble beginning in 2017, The L Train Brass Band (LTBB) steadily grew from a small brass band enthusiasts' meetup to what is now a thriving community of nearly 70 contributing member-musicians. LTBB is the main performance ensemble of the Brooklyn Brass Band Collective (B3C), a nonprofit organization founded in 2018 to accelerate opportunities for the group's members and to support the greater community. This collective approach allows the band to adapt to a variety of public, private, and educational performance situations - from a 12-piece party band to a massive marching unit, or virtually anything in between.

Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City's most valuable public space - our streets. On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC's streets are opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Summer Streets provides space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation. In 2018, nearly 300,000 people took advantage of the open streets.

Held between 7:00am to 1:00pm, Summer Streets extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, with easy access from all points in New York City, allowing participants to plan a trip as long or short as they wish. All activities at Summer Streets are free of charge, and designed for people of all ages and ability levels to share the streets respectfully.

For more information, visit nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets.

Photo Credit: Nico Malvaldi

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