Dracula, Pennsylvania Ballet

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Dracula, Pennsylvania Ballet

POSTED: Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 4:22 PM

Filed Under: Arts Dance

Oct. 26, 8 p.m., Academy, runs thru Nov. 3

There’s never anything subtle about Dracula. And that goes double for Dracula, the big three-act ballet Pennsylvania Ballet opened last Friday at the Academy of Music. The opus was created by Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson in 1997 to mark the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s novel.

Part of its appeal is simply it’s a handsome production with lavish sets designed in subtle, rich tones of burgundy, black, brown and gray. The jewel box colors offset the legion of Dracula’s brides, all in white fluttering gowns with blond wigs and pale faces. Everything else is dark and spooky in Dracula’s castle. Only the nearby village, where Dracula’s minions seek out new brides for the Count, glows with bright happy primary colors. The lush orchestral rendering of Franz Liszt romantic music contributes as well.
It’s also that the dancers enjoy performing this stagy ballet, and get a kick out of all the melodrama, the flying across the stage, dragging the stagecoach around and generally having fun. It’s no lack of serious dancing, it’s just that the lurking, stalking and over the top emotions far out-shadow the classical jetes and pirouettes.

Still there were fine performances opening night and virtuoso dancing. Very tall James Ihde was commanding as the evil Count. When he spread his cape, Ihde seemed to cover the entire stage. Arantxa Ochoa was excellent in the thankless role of Flora, who serves Dracula as head bride — part evil, part captive. Amy Aldridge and James Ady danced the village lovers who are parted when Amy/Svetlana is captured during a festival and carried off to the castle. They are well matched. Both have the crisp body line and steady center essential to ballet. In their village courtship, and later when Ady/Fredrick rescues his lady literally from Dracula’s bed, they exquisitely perform pas de deux of great difficulty and precision.
The fun is in the character parts. Jonathan Stiles had a romp as Renfrew the evil imp who races around in a carriage snatching beautiful new brides for the insatiable Count. Corps members Alyson Pray has a small star turn in the mimed role of Svetlana’s mother as she etches out in movement her hopes for her daughter’s marriage and future family. Since the ballet dancers have so much fun with all this, it’s no surprise the audience does as well.

See Also: PA Ballet

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