Story and photos by Monty Siekerman

Fourteen ballet dancers from New York City and 13 dancers, who won local auditions, will present "Cocktail Hour: The Show" on Saturday and Sunday at the Freed Center.

Marilyn Klaus is founder, artistic director, and choreographer of the troupe, New York City's Ballets with Twist.

The show consists of more than a dozen fast-paced vignettes, each song a different "scene."

Scenes take place in many parts of the world, such as Cuba, Hollywood, Paris, Asia, Africa, each with different costumes and music written especially for the show.

Audience members will hear a variety of music, such as Latin, folksongs, even humorous ones.

Dancers perform in front of an animated projection screen that sets the stage for the dances.

Is a person born with a creative streak or is it developed? Ms. Klaus believes both.

She remembers the time when she was three years old. She said she would stand on the front lawn of the family home in Hollywood and act out scenes to go with the outdoor Christmas decorations.

She had fun, interest, and ability at an early age, but it took a lot of dance instruction to perfect her dance expertise.

Emma Scannell, a senior from Elida who is homeschooled, is one of the fortunate people who tried out and was chosen for the ONU performance.

She has enjoyed dance since she was a toddler.

Emma appears in the vignette, "Return to Normalcy," an elegant, high-class scene.

She has been taking theatre classes at ONU for the past two years. She knows ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary and tap.

"I'm excited to work with the group, the experience helps me grow as a dancer," Emma said.

Ms. Klaus has been teaching master classes this week for ONU theatre majors while here rehearsing for the show.

The show is performed often in New York City and has toured Europe. Ms. Klaus began the company 20 years ago.

She gives a lot of credit to Ameera Ansari, ONU's costume designer, for her good work.

The show will be presented on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m.

The Freed Center box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phone orders may be made by calling 419-772-1900. Tickets also are available online at www.freedcenter.com.