VENUES

Union Square Ballroom

The Union Square Ballroom is located on the edge of Union Square Park in the heart of downtown Manhattan.  The 4000 square foot facility is an architectural masterpiece which can comfortably house up to 400 guests.  The Union Square Ballroom also features a separate private lounge which seats up to 100 guests. With a warm modern interior and a state of the art sound system, the Union Square Ballroom allows each event to adapt and transform the space seamlessly.

 

The Russian Tea Room

Founded in 1927 by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, the Russian Tea Room has been a staple amongst New York theater goers for 80 years. Located a short walk from Carnegie Hall, The Russian Tea Room is frequented by actors and patrons alike.

The Tea Room consists of four ornate floors, lavishly reminiscent of Russian architecture. The fourth floor even has a working model of the Kremlin! The third floor is two stories high, and houses a balcony for live entertainment. It is decorated in glass, brass and gilded gold Russian bears, with luxurious stained glass ceilings. The second floor is also two stories tall, with hundreds of candles, elegant banquet seating, and walls of shimmering glass.  The first floor houses the main dining area, and is decked out is lavish reds and golds.

Café Vivaldi

Café Vivaldi was opened in the 1980’s by Ishrat Ansari, a Pakistani Immigrant with a passion for classical music. Located in Greenwich Village, Café Vivaldi has been featured in numerous films by such acclaimed directors as Woody Allen and Al Pacino.  The café is decorated in serious wood tones, and is covered in black and white portraits of renowned composers.

When not featuring a live performance from some of the city’s premier jazz, pop, classical, Pakistani and world music artists, owner Ansari plays selections from his own personal classical music collection. In addition to great music, Café Vivaldi has great food, offering fine dining, a full bar, and a wide selection of coffees and desserts.

Le Cirque

New York’s Le Cirque restaurant is consistently agreed to be one of the best restaurants in the world. With a new home at Beacon Court on E 58th in Manhattan, Le Cirque is now even more prepared to host the city’s most exclusive talents from the world of art, fashion, culture and music.

Makor

The Makor/Steinhardt Center program runs in conjunction with the 92nd Street Y. The program is primarily for adults in their 20’s and 30’s, and works to introduce art, culture, entertainment and education to participants. Often, programs by Makor are devoted to Jewish topics, but are open to everyone. Events have included concerts, wine tasting, speed dating, musical concerts, and community service events. Makor regularly partakes in community service with local schools, AIDS charities, elder hospitals and soup kitchens in the Manhattan area.

The Cutting Room

One of the more hip music venues the Ten O’clock Classics have performed at is The Cutting Room, located in central Manhattan. Opened in 1999, the Cutting Room is owned by Berkelee School of Music Alumni Steve Walter and noted television actor Chris Noth (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Sex and the City). The Cutting Room has featured famed artists like Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Kid Rock. Celebrity guests like David Bowie and Chris Rock are frequently spotted in the audience. The cutting room boasts not only a state of the art sound system, but world class dining as well. Co-owner Steve Walter has proudly admitted that many patrons come to The Cutting Room just to dine on creations by head chef Tom Bowes, formerly of the four-star La Reserve in NYC. Guests can expect traditional fare like burgers and fries, but made fresh on site, never frozen. In fact, even the condiments are made in-house!

The Knitting Factory

Opened in 1987 by Michael Dorf and Lewis Spitzer, The Knitting Factory was initially created to generate money to fund the owners’ record label venture, Flaming Pie Records. Today the club boasts two locations (one in Los Angeles, the original in New York) and seven different record labels. While the Knitting Factory hosts shows from some of today’s hottest musical acts, they are still known for featuring new and unknown talent, as they’ve done since their inception twenty years ago.

Studio 54

Originally built as the home of the Gallo Opera House in 1927, Studio 54 became a world-famous dance club in 1977. Legendary tales of wild parties and exclusive celebrity guest lists color tales of Studio 54’s heyday. Unfortunately, the club closed in 1986 after 9 years of business, due to a decline in the popularity of the types of performances held at the club. Though a revival was attempted briefly in 1994, the club never regained its original luster, but went bankrupt in 1998.

New life was breathed into the historical location again in 1998, when the Roundabout Theater took over the location and used it to home its production of Cabaret for six years, until 2004. Today the Roundabout still owns the location, but uses it as a concert hall and performance space for plays, concerts and musicals. The second floor is still occasionally used as a nightclub when the theater is not in use.

Crunch Fitness

Crunch Fitness has been around since 1989, starting out as a single-location aerobics studio in Manhattan’s East Village. Crunch soon gained popularity for its innovative classes, which included live rap performances during aerobics, yoga cycling and even co-ed wrestling! The instructors weren’t typical either- diverse individuals from actors, rappers, singers and drag queens were known to lead classes from time to time. 

Today Crunch has 32 locations from coast to coast, and still offers innovative classes and entertainment to its clientele.

The Nicole

The Ten O’clock Classics have even been known to play on the rooftop of lofts and apartments around the city. One such place was at The Nicole, a centrally located, modern apartment building close to Central Park, Broadway and the cultural heart of the city.

The Family Tree Collective

The Family Tree Collective is an organization co-founded by my good friend Zack Foley. It was created as a means for involved artists to produce and present “culturally relevant” work to a broad audience.

The collective is made up of a diverse mix of musicians, actors, dancers, designers’ painters and other artists, who come together to offer each other support and guidance. Over 100 participating artists have provided audiences with 10 minute presentations at 29 separate events, and proceeds from each performance are donated to various causes within the communities they are held in