I’m sitting at the Marcus Performing Arts Center before Milwaukee Ballet’s performance of Michael Pink’s Dracula, and I can’t help but notice the many people coming to this show dressed up in theater-attire-appropriate versions of vampires, in all-black with dark makeup or bright red outfits.
A woman to my right says she and her friend decided to come on a whim – it sounded fun, and she thought, “Why not?” Another says she comes to every ballet. I, admittedly, have not been to the ballet in years and don’t know much about the technical aspects of dance. But I was eager to see this show, to see what I, a regular theatergoer who hopes to watch more ballet, would think of the performance.
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From the moment the curtain lifted, I was captivated. It was dark, scary and even funny at times – a few brief moments elicited laughter from the audience. The athleticism and craft of the dancers were as spectacular as I’ve heard Milwaukee Ballet to be, and the performance overall was theatrical and entertaining.
Dracula is in three acts with 20-minute intermissions between them. I saw the performance Thursday evening, with Cast A performing.
In Act 1, Jonathan Harker (Randy Crespo) travels to Transylvania, where he meets with local villagers performing a sacrificial ritual before being invited into The Count’s home. He’s visited by three ghostlike women, and Dracula (Davit Hovhannisiyan) casts them out and takes Harker for himself.
Act 2 begins with a bright dance and follows Harker’s fiancé Mina’s friend, Lucy (Marize Fumero), who giddily leaps through the air, dancing with suitors. Dracula shows up and puts her in a trance. She’s taken to the hospital after, but Dracula finds her there, too.
In the final act, Mina (Lahna Vanderbush) is pulled into Dracula’s trance, too. He takes her to dance with the undead, but Dracula soon meets his end shortly thereafter.
The performance was chilling, and the dance and music from the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra moved in tandem to bring the story to life. It’s hard to choose only a few favorite performances from this show, as there were so many that left me in awe.
The dance between Dracula and Harker in Act 1 was tense, with the men lifting each other and moving both fast and slow. It reminded me of a cat playing with its food before the attack. I was on the edge of my seat as I watched, pulled in by the increasingly suspenseful music until it came to a dramatic end.
I was also struck by Hovhannisiyan’s strength and control as Dracula, particularly in Act 2, when he glides into the party to put Lucy in a trance, each step appearing as if he was floating through the air. And when he slips into the hospital where Lucy is staying, he hangs bat-like upside down and creeps into the room.
The dance between Dracula and Mina in Act 3 was stunning. The way she appeared to be nearly flying through the air was beautiful and the two moved together harmoniously. I also can’t stop thinking about the ensemble dance of the undead in Act 3. It was creepy, as the zombielike creatures crawled out of a crypt and smeared blood on their faces and clothes. And the Florentine Opera’s eerie vocals in the background added yet another ominous layer to the scene.
The huge and intricate set, the costumes and all the impressive special effects of the show tied together the dancing and the music into a production I’ll certainly remember. I loved the use of the fog machine, the explosive special effects and the moving pieces of the set. The costumes were elaborate and moved so perfectly as the dancers flew across the stage.
Even if you’re like me and haven’t been to the ballet in years, or maybe you don’t know much about dance either, this show is a perfectly chilling and exciting show to see nonetheless, especially this Halloween weekend.
See Dracula Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m.
