Dancers of the Staten Island Ballet will be heating up Colony Hall on the Sea View Campus for their annual fundraiser. This year they're treating guests to a night with Asian flair. NY1's Mara Montalbano filed the following report.

The Staten Island Ballet dancers are at it again, preparing for their annual fundraiser but this ballet is anything but classical. Ballet Director, Ellen Tharp, says this year's event - Snow Ball: A Night in Magical Macau - is all about experiencing a night in one of China's hottest cities.

"I've always been fascinated by Asian culture and the traditions of it," said Tharpe. "It's a hot place, Macau is a hot place for Europeans right now."

While the audience is dining on Asian fare and trying their luck at the casino games, the dancers will be heating up the dance floor. They've traded their ballet flats for high heels and turned their tutus in for traditional Chinese dress. Dancers say the moves in this show are definitely more sultry and sassy than the Nutcracker.

"The choreography is very different and you have to keep very focused because there is a lot of action in the whole entire thing," said dancer Andrea Wachholtz. "It's very entertaining for the audience, but its very entertaining for the dancers because it's not classical."

"You want to make it look clean, spontaneous, fresh, bright. It's not that it's so much challenging," said dancer Frank Dellapolla. "It's about doing the work correctly and doing it well and enjoying it and making the audience enjoy it as well."

They're hoping to raise the temperature on a cold winter night while raising money for a good cause.

“The proceeds go to our scholarship fund for our children and also for some senior programs,” added Tharpe.

For more information on the Staten Island Ballet or to purchase tickets to “Snow Ball: A Night in Magical Macau,” call the Staten Island Ballet at 1-718-980-0500.

- Mara Montalbano