 |
| Dracula slings Mina over his shoulder © SKepecs 2015 |
By Susan Kepecs
Shortly after dusk, a string of plump Dane County Farmers’ Market garlic wrapped around my neck, I muster my courage and tiptoe up the steep flight of steps that leads to the Secret Kingdom of Madison Ballet. I peek into a spooky, windowless room where a troupe of vampires is rehearsing a ballet. It’s artistic director W. Earle Smith’s Dracula, to be precise. I loved that show so much I saw all three performances of its 2013 premiere. That’s why I’m here. Insanely drawn to vampires and other bad boys, I can’t wait even one more day to see it again. Take it from me, though – unless you want to scare yourself silly, go for the finished product. It runs Oct. 16-17 at Overture’s well-guarded, very safe Capitol Theater. If you see the show there you get the total experience – Smith’s weirdly terrifying, action-packed, contemporary choreography; Michael Massey’s indelible rock n’ roll score, composed just for this ballet and performed live onstage; Karen Brown-Larimore’s over-the-top steampunk costuming; and the late Jen Trieloff’s bold, Broadwayesque aluminum-truss set.
Smith’s Dracula, like all really good story ballets, is more about the dancing than the narrative, though when you catch it onstage you can see the fable’s flow unfold. But since I’m sneaking in to see a rehearsal, and it’s early in the process, I’ll just get bits and pieces. To prepare, I boned up on the Cliffs Notes: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/dracula/book-summary.
I draw a deep breath and venture into the studio. At this hour all the sugarplum fairies have gone home, but except for an occasional glint of fang the members of the Dracula cast seem for all the world like perfectly ordinary highly trained ballet dancers (not that there’s anything ordinary about highly trained ballet dancers, but you get my point). They’re wearing regular old dancewear, which heightens the effect.
I work up the nerve to approach Smith. I don’t have any formal questions ready, so I just plunge in. “As the artistic director of a vampire company, I assume you usually work late into the night?”
“I do my best work at night,” he says. His upper lip lifts in a slight snarl, and I notice a red fleck on one of his front teeth. “I play best at night, too. I’m a night owl.”
“How do you keep them from biting you?”
“We don’t often bite our own kind, but the truth is best left unsaid – vampires never give away their secrets, or their feeding habits.”
Out of the corner of my eye I notice something unusual for ballet companies – half the dancers are men! Smith anticipates my next question. “The real tension in this ballet is between the Count and a number of mortal men who haven’t crossed over,” he says. “It takes more male dancers than we have in the company, so I called in Jacob Ashley – um, Dr. Van Helsing – because he’s the best vampire slayer I know. And I brought in former Arizona Ballet principal Shea Johnson, also known as Jonathan Harker, because, well, even though he’s a mere mortal, he’s just plain sexy.”
Smith turns away from this impromptu interview and bares his fangs; the dancers jump to attention. The opening notes of the overture to Massey’s Dracula score announce the start of rehearsal. (Just to clarify, Massey is not a vampire, but he is their favorite composer).
Harker, indefatigable fiancé of the lovely Mina Murray, bears a slight resemblance to the young Mikhail Baryshnikov – it’s his haircut, and some of his facial expressions. He’s executing a bold bravura variation and is in the middle of a string of second position pirouettes when the music goes gouhlish – the characterization in this score is right on point – and the imposing figure of Count Dracula (day name: Joe LaChance) sidles in with loose, lateral steps – the opposite of the diagonal dynamic we earthly humans usually employ. He stalks Harker, grabs him, and – sluuurp! – licks his neck – then pushes him away in disgust.
There’s a break; the dancers regroup. “Mr. Harker,” I ask, “do you find Dracula attractive?”
“Nooooo!” Harker replies, scandalized. “Of course, I’m apprehensive – I don’t really believe in vampires, but there they are! It’s all so weird – I don’t know exactly what’s going on here.”
 |
| Dracula's brides seduce Harker © SKepecs 2015 |
I’m itching to ask Dracula if bigamy’s common among his kind, but he’s protected by a band of Gypsies who pirouette, pas de chat and kick, pointe shoes flashing, like human spikes on the castle gate. It’s big, bold, off-center dancing that looks devastatingly dangerous.
The mortal Mina (the elegant Shannon Quirk) appears, leaping happily; she’s come to visit her friend Lucy Westernra (McKenna Collins), who responds with a welcoming outburst of shoulder-rolling, hip-shaking, sheer rock n’ roll that brings her three suitors (Phillip Ollenburg, Jason Gomez, Cyrus Bridwell) out of the woodwork in hot pursuit. Mina watches warily. Lucy beckons her to join this bacchanal. “Mina,” Smith admonishes – and it’s obvious how his tone softens when he’s around this superbly graceful dancer – “don’t fall for it. You’re like, oh no, no, I’m not doing that! Not me! I’ve got morals!”
Lucy is gossiping in the corner with some of the Gypsy girls. I make my way over. “I know you always have a lot of boyfriends,” I say, “but aren’t you afraid Dracula will come lusting after you when you do that outrageously flirty dance?”
“No, not at all!” she replies, laughing. “I’m a daredevil – I’m not afraid of anything! I find vampires alluring – I find most men alluring!”
 |
| Renfield does his crazy dance © SKepecs 2015 |
That crazy Renfield – his day name’s Jackson Warring – is a bona fide schizophrenic. It’s slightly unnerving to see him suck up to Dracula with his loony little crotch-grabbing, insect eating dance. “I’m the action star of my own movie,” he says, safely back in his cell and drooling slightly. “I mean, I just want Dracula to like me. I want him to make me into whatever he wants. Ha ha, I’m a vampire!”
But Dracula has other plans. He goes after Mina, sweeping her into a luxurious penché and lifting her onto his back to carry her off. “Bite her!” Smith commands, chomping at the air. “Find your inner Dracula!”
Finally, I work up the nerve to approach the Count. Up close his towering presence is totally intimidating. “What is it you want?” I squeak. “The taste of blood – I need blood!” he snarls. “I’m a control freak.” His upper lip curls. “I want to do what I want, to whoever I want, whenever I want to do it, and nobody is smart or strong enough to top me. I’ve been dead 400 years – I don’t really want to reconnect with humanity. It’s insulting to have to associate with all these humans – I feel put upon. But it’s Mina – I have a long-term plan for her. I want her, which is why I want to kill Lucy. I’ve been feeding on Lucy for ages, but the next time she looks at me wrong I’m going to do her in. I’m going to do it for Mina, and the hell with Lucy and the rest of my brides!”
I’m starting to feel really weird about all of this. I want to get out of here, now. Mina must be thinking the same thing, because she’s inching toward the door. I follow her.
“How does it feel to be pursued by Count Dracula?” I ask as we tiptoe toward the stairs. “It’s terrifying, yet flattering,” she whispers. “I usually play it safer – it feels very risky to fall into being pursued, especially by a vampire.”
The first faint rays of dawn are visible in the hall. Only the hemovores remain inside the studio; the sound of coffin lids softly closing reaches our retreating ears. But someone who doesn’t belong in there is trapped – it must be Harker, since he’s not with us. We can hear him leaping, flinging himself at the walls in frustration.
Want to know what happens next? You’ll have to go to the show. But don’t forget your garlic, or you might be sorry.
________________________
Dracula tours to Oshkosh’s Grand Opera House (Oct. 21-22) and the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts in Springfield, MO, on March 16. If you can’t get enough, get on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment