Highlights

Best of 2023:

The company’s spring tour began at Iowa’s Burlington Civic Music — right on the Mississippi River! A master class and student matinee preceded an evening performance.
Ballets with a Twist returned to The Grand Oshkosh with the world premiere of "Beer." The company’s residency at The Grand included a master class and collaboration with The University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh Titan Thunder Marching Band, who joined the company to perform Twist hit, Brandy Alexander.
The company kicked off its fall touring season in Little Rock, Arkansas where students from North Little Rock High School participated in a master class taught by a Twist soloist. An evening performance of Cocktail Hour: The Show closed out the ACANSA Arts Festival of the South.
Spooky Halloween was the theme for the company’s return engagement at the Imperial Theatre in October. The performance was followed by a meet-and-greet in historic Augusta, Georgia.
Wrapping up 2023, Ballets with a Twist brought snow to the stage for the inaugural Holiday Extravaganza at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Best of 2022:

Ballets with a Twist raised a toast to 2022 with the virtual premiere of the Mirage film series in the new Twist Theater.
The company made a smashing return to live performance with an engagement at the Madison Theatre at Molloy College. The stage debut of the Mirage suite topped off the evening.

Best of 2020-2021:

Early in the year, Ballets with a Twist made its second trip to Texas for an engagement at the Charles W. Eisemann Center's Hill Performance Hall, in Richardson.
During a period of close-to-home creativity, the company's artistic team created Mirage, a new suite of dance cocktails including "La Paloma," "Ranch Water," "Double Vision," and "Smooth Criminal." The suite was encapsulated in a collection of ephemeral outdoor films leading viewers on a journey of intrigue, illusion, and imagination through the wilds of NYC.

Best of 2019:

Wisconsin welcomed Ballets with a Twist for the first time with a performance at The Grand Oshkosh. At an exclusive pre-show Producers Circle event, donors enjoyed cocktail tastings and a meet-and-greet with the costumed artists.
Saks Fifth Avenue Chicago provided a chic backdrop for a new staging of one of the company’s classic pieces, “Champagne,” as part of a private after-hours event.
While celebrating its 25th-anniversary season, Moraine Valley Community College presented the company at the Dorothy Menker Theater.
Ballets with a Twist made its Virginia debut with two showings at the new Zeiders American Dream Theater, in Virginia Beach.
During its first year of programming, New Jersey’s Avenel Performing Arts Center welcomed the company for four performances featuring two world premieres: “Cin Cin” and “Hot Toddy.”
The New York Department of Transportation’s first annual Summer Streets Dance Festival brought the company — with guest artists from the Brooklyn-based L Train Brass Band — to an open-air stage at Astor Place.
The Doudna Fine Arts Center, at Eastern Illinois University, launched its season with a two-night engagement by Ballets with a Twist, also providing community dance workshops led by company soloists.
Young local dancers rehearsed and performed with the company for its first Wyoming appearance, at the Cheyenne Civic Center. The Historic Plains Hotel partnered with the venue to serve custom cocktails and mocktails during the show, also hosting an after party in its own lobby.
Old School Square brought Ballets with a Twist back to Delray Beach for a performance featuring a winter holiday theme and repertory never before seen in Florida.

Best of 2018:

Ballets with a Twist kicked off the 100th anniversary of Georgia’s Imperial Theatre (Augusta) with an engagement featuring the Academy of Richmond County Purple Pride Marching Band and a master class at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.
The company returned to Florida, this time hitting the east coast with an appearance at Old School Square, in Delray Beach.
Highlights of a performance at the White Plains Performing Arts Center included an outreach collaboration with Scarsdale’s Central Park Dance school, and the premiere of “Soirée,” a three-part romantic suite.
The B-Twist Orchestra joined the company for an evening of entertainment at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center.
A cabaret-style holiday show at Jersey City’s White Eagle Hall featured the B-Twist Orchestra, table-side drink service and a partnership with local French restaurant Madame Claude Bis.

Best of 2017:

Ballets with a Twist flew south for its Florida debut, at The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, in The Villages.
The company took the stage in the shadow of the Flatirons, at the historic Colorado Chautauqua, in Boulder.
Ballets with a Twist made its second trip to Oregon, presented by Seacoast Entertainment Association at the Florence Events Center.
Just north of Chicago, in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Raue Center for the Arts welcomed Ballets with a Twist to the stage.
The company made its fourth appearance on the Beacon Theatre stage, opening Cyndi Lauper’s Home for the Holidays benefit concert with the B-Twist Orchestra.
Celebrated singer/songwriter Everett Bradley invited Ballets with a Twist to be his guest at Manhattan’s Highline Ballroom, where the dancers performed a piece created especially for Bradley’s touring seasonal production, “Holidelic."

Best of 2016:

Ballets with a Twist completed a residency at Ohio Northern University, offering a week of master classes and choreography workshops for the Department of Theater Arts. Several students were invited to join the company on stage during performances at the Freed Center for the Performing Arts.
Cocktail Hour: The Show made waves in New Hope, Pennsylvania, as the first ballet act ever to appear at Bucks County Playhouse. Highlights of the four-show run included a menu of drinks from the program, served throughout the evening, and the premiere of “Singapore Sling.”
Brooklyn Ballet selected Ballets with a Twist to participate in its annual First Look series at The Actors Fund Arts Center, in Brooklyn.
Cocktail Hour: The Show set the tone for the holiday season at Westchester Community College, where the Latin themed “Rum Runner” suite had its debut.
For the third time, Cyndi Lauper welcomed Ballets with a Twist to kick off her annual Home for the Holidays benefit concert at New York City’s Beacon Theatre.
The company created a unique presentation for Saks Fifth Avenue Downtown, in NYC, using the innovative design of the store to inspire a festive holiday atmosphere.

Best of 2015:

The Texas premiere of Cocktail Hour: The Show brought audiences from both sides of the border together at El Paso’s Plaza Theatre as young dancers from Chihuahua, Mexico, joined the company in rehearsal and on stage.
Costume designer Catherine Zehr joined Ballets with a Twist artistic director and choreographer Marilyn Klaus in candid conversation on designing for dance at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The sold-out event, a part of the museum’s Fashion Culture series, featured performances of excerpts from the company’s repertory.
For the third year in a row, Ballets with a Twist served up selections from Cocktail Hour: The Show at the 2015 Dance Works Fundraiser Showcase for the Avon Foundation, at the Dunn Performing Arts Center.
The company’s three youngest members made their Tribeca Film Festival debut in mocktail classic “Shirley Temple,” a performance featuring the Gospelfest-winning Special Ensemble choir.
The mountain resort town of Stowe provided a festive fall setting for Ballets with a Twist’s Vermont debut and the premiere of “Pink Lady,” at the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center.
Norwich, New York, celebrated the winter season with a special holiday edition of Cocktail Hour: The Show, presented by the Chenango Arts Council at the Martin W. Kappel Theater.

Best of 2014:

Ballets with a Twist warmed up winter at the Dunn Performing Arts Center, in Rye, New York, with a guest performance during the 2014 Dance Works fundraiser for the Avon Foundation.
Lower Manhattan welcomed the company for its twelfth annual appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival.
A fourth residency at Rahway’s Hamilton Stage featured two cocktail premieres: “Eau de Vie” and “Boilermaker.”
The company’s fall season spanned from coast to coast, beginning with the Oregon premiere of Cocktail Hour: The Show at Medford’s Craterian Theater.
A debut engagement at Staten Island’s historic St. George Theatre brought the B-Twist Orchestra and Newark Symphony Hall’s Gospelfest award-winning youth choir, the Special Ensemble, together for the first time.
Brandy Alexander and his musical army, the Rahway High School Marching Band, returned to New York City’s Beacon Theatre to take part in Cyndi Lauper’s annual Home for the Holidays benefit concert, bringing the year to a triumphant close.

Best of 2013:

Ballets with a Twist rang in the new year at Manhattan’s XL Nightclub and Cabaret with a show featuring live music courtesy of the B-Twist Orchestra.
The company joined Dance Works in a performance supporting the Avon Foundation, at the Dunn Performing Arts Center in Rye, New York.
Fragrance designer Kilian Hennessy invited the company to appear during the Saks Fifth Avenue launch of his Flower of Immortality perfume, at West Hollywood’s SoHo House.
New York audiences deemed Cocktail Hour: The Show the arts experience they would most like to see broadcast live from the David Rubenstein Atrium as part of Lincoln Center’s second annual summer and fall performance series. This free public program included a preview of selections from the show at the Queens Public Library in Flushing.
Ballet in Cleveland presented Cocktail Hour: The Show at Playhouse Square’s Ohio Theatre, where East Cleveland’s Mighty Shaw High School Marching Cardinal Band brought the house down with a rousing rendition of “Brandy Alexander.”
In collaboration with the award-winning Rahway High School Marching Band, the company pumped up the volume during two sequel seasons at New Jersey’s Hamilton Stage.
Ballets with a Twist and the B-Twist Orchestra made their mark at Manhattan’s newest entertainment hotspot, Stage 48, with a pair of sold-out floorshows.

Best of 2012:

Midtown Manhattan drank up a pair of performances in full floorshow format at XL Nightclub and Cabaret, on 42nd Street.
Cyndi Lauper joined Ballets with a Twist at XL Nightclub and Cabaret for an evening benefiting her charitable foundation. The cultural icon delivered a memorable rendition of her hit song “True Colors” as the company’s youngest members performed a dance created especially for the occasion.
The Union County Performing Arts Center’s Hamilton Stage, a new state-of-the-art theater in Rahway, New Jersey, presented the company’s signature show during its inaugural season. The venue also invited company dancers to perform before the National Endowment for the Arts as Rahway received a federal Our Town grant.
Ballets with a Twist rocked the house with Cyndi Lauper and Friends at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, performing Klaus’s classic cocktail “Holy Water” with the B-Twist Orchestra.

Best of 2011:

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts presented Cocktail Hour: The Show to a full house at the David Rubenstein Atrium.
Other engagements included appearances at the Tribeca Film Festival, Brooklyn Ballet's First Look at The Actors Fund Arts Center, the HOWL! Festival, the HBO Stage at Bryant Park, and the Downtown Dance Festival.

Best of 2010:

At Teatro in Piazza, an exclusive outdoor theater in Los Angeles, the company treated a stylish audience to an evening of Klaus’s work. The Huffington Post deemed Klaus a “hip ballet romantic” who is “unabashedly concerned with entertaining her audience.”

The company was also on the program for the Tribeca Film Festival, Brooklyn Ballet's First Look at The Actors Fund Arts Center, and other festivals and venues.

Click here for the origin story of Ballets with a Twist.