Dracula, the Ballet was amazing. From the moment the curtain opened and Dracula rose from his coffin in pale, naked splendor, we knew we were in for something for special. The familiar story unfolded with Jonathan Harker trapped in the castle with his vampire host. They did a good job of showing how tormented Dracula was at having fresh blood so near by, and how under his spell Harker already was, and how helpless. The scenes with the three brides of Dracula and Harker were terribly cool. Very sensual, and Mina dancing through the foreground in white, pure and cool, and everything the brides were not was a wonderful reminder of what Harker had to loose. The staging was wonderful, too. They did a good job of showing our vampire going down the side of the building. It was a nifty effect. A nice visual, but I could just say NICE VISUAL for almost every part of the ballet and be accurate. It wasn’t just the dancers who were wonderful, but everyone behind the stage, from design, to lighting, to costuming, to anyone I forgot. It all came together in one of those moments that just leave you going, wow.
The first scenes with Renfield left us wondering if you were unfamiliar with the story if you would have known who he was supposed to be and why he was locked up, but the dancer who played he was perfect, and both Jon and Charles agreed that they wanted his back muscles. His back muscles had back muscles. Other than Renfield, though, even unfamiliar with the story the choreography and the music told the narrative, very well. In fact, for me, it is the best job of storytelling that I’ve ever seen at the ballet. So many people think that they need to see Swan Lake, or Sleeping Beauty, but they are not narratives. They are ballets, and the story is very secondary to the dance. Nothing wrong with that, but it can leave those of us who are not afincados of the dance a little lost and tired. Aurora, from Sleeping Beauty is a wonderful part for a ballerina, but she is not a character. She is more a characture, and leaves me cold, as cold and precise as the dancing she illicites. There was nothing cold about Dracula. It was a very warm blooded ballet, no pun intended.
There was about a hundred people at the meet and greet that we did after the performance. Of those, about a dozen had never been to the ballet before. None of them came away disappointed. They all enjoyed it, and they all got it. It was wonderful seeing everyone. Thanks to those who drove from far away, I think Wisconsin was the longest drive and California the longest flight. Congrats to our winner of the drawing for a copy of SWALLOWING DARKNESS. Some of you brought books, but most were just happy to have an advance copy of A LICK OF FROST in paperback, for free. A wonderful ballet and a free book; not bad for a Sunday afternoon. Oh, and I did give a short speech about the novel, Dracula, before the ballet, and did a question and answer session.
The choreography was a nice mix of modern and traditional, and just different. Dracula’s part was nicely done, to set him apart from the rest. The dancer who played Dracula was not only beautiful, but commanding, graceful, otherworldly, everything he needed to be. He was also very tall, over six feet, by quite a bit. I was a little upset about the choice the choreographer had made about showing Dracula’s interaction with everyone was violent, rather than sensual. It was erotic, but it was very clear that this was force, supernatural rape, not seduction. Until he meets Mina, from almost the beginning of their interaction she’s a tougher nut to crack, and can sort of fight him off with purity and strength of will. But Lucy, the perpetual victim of the novel, is very much the victim here. He drives her mad, before he kills her, or perhaps makes of her a wanton thing. The dancer playing Lucy did a lovely job of showing the sensuality and the terror of her plight. Not an easy mix to pull off. The first act ends with her death. My one complaint about the choreography was one movement with Lucy’s legs during the bite scenes with Dracula. Her legs came up and twitched, most unbecomingly. I believe the point was being driven home that this wasn’t fun or sensual, but violent, but that last movement distracted, and threw me out of the narrative. I talked to others at the intermission and they felt the same way.
The second act opens with Lucy’s funeral, followed closely by her undead rise. The scene where the men stake Lucy was powerful. Though we all agreed that the severed head didn’t look very real. There is a scene where Mina dances with the four men after Lucy’s death that shows in dance what grief feels like. I’ve lost enough people close to me, and trying to describe how it feels afterwards is almost impossible, but I watched the dancers move through it. I thought, there, that’s what if feels like. The scene also showed Mina as the comforter of all of them, and the lynch-pin on which they all turned. Then Dracula shows up, and begins to try and seduce Mina for real. He tries violence, as he’s done with everyone else, but he feels bad about it, and Mina fights back. There is a scene where Dracula is redeemed, that’s the only word that Jon and I could come up with, he is redeemed in a dance both gentle and powerful, and so beautiful you wanted to see it again, as soon as it was done. Dracula was shirtless for most of the second act. Charles asked afterwards, why? Why’d he loose his shirt. Answer, because he was beautiful, and it worked especially for this scene to show him as more vulnerable. Mina enjoys being part vampire in this version, but it works. It’s always hard for the human men not to come off as ineffectual in Dracula. This version was no different, in fact, their step behind was very visible on stage. It also worked. You saw them struggle with things they did not understand, and watching them loose Mina as they’d lost Lucy, showed their pain. But where Lucy was a victim; Mina was a partner. There is a moment where Mina and Dracula are dancing together, but never touch, and it flat works. They’re standing side by side, him in the cloak, and her in a dress, all that cloth flowing, and both of them with that long, dark hair, flying around their faces. They are wild, and free, and together.
Then we have our end, as we must. We get to see the brides again helping their master fight the humans at the castle back in Transylvania. The last scene contains a bit of magic, and is a fitting conclusion to the adventure of the night. They’ve changed the ending from the book, and in case you get to see it, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it was powerful, and it worked with the whole. Changed, or not, it was just so right to the characters you’d seen on stage, you didn’t mind the change.
I will pay BalletMet Columbus’s version of Dracula the highest praise I have. I would be willing to get on a plane and fly to see them do it again. Sadly, I’ve checked their website and I cannot find another showing. I’ve got e-mails into people, to see if I just don’t know how to navigate the site correctly, but this may be the last performance for awhile. Pout. I was impressed enough with the company that I might be tempted out to another city to see them do something else. Again, me volunteering to get on a plane . . . It’s gotta be good.
