![]() ![]() We begin with the somnolent air of the opening act, in the stone-walled catacombs, where despite the efforts of the willowy virgins in low-cut negligees, the most exciting choreography is for Dracula's sweeping purple cape. Foremost is the unbearably slow general pacing of the evening-length work and the decidedly flat choreography. The corps de ballet women play Dracula's harem of swoony brides.īut however straightforward the story-Dracula seeks young women's necks to drain he steals first Flora, then Svetlana faithful Fredrick and the priest steal her back-Stevenson's work runs into several problems. ![]() The ballet boils the plot down to its barest elements: You've got your vampire (Timothy O'Keefe), your initial victim (Virginia native Kathryn Warakomsky as Flora), your innocent young lovers (Lauren Anderson as Svetlana and Carlos Acosta as Fredrick) and your cross-wielding priest (Phillip Broomhead). Making the book into a ballet is certainly a plausible idea there are several leading characters, plenty of action, hearty doses of fear and violence as well as the big box-office bonus, sex. Stevenson based his three-act ballet loosely on the Bram Stoker novel (the ballet premiered in 1997, the year of the story's centenary). Last night, the Houston Ballet brought its remarkably unremarkable version of "Dracula," choreographed by company Artistic Director Ben Stevenson, to the Kennedy Center Opera House. The myth of the bloodsucking, maiden-hunting undead demon captured humanity's imagination centuries ago, leading to a veritable vampire industry over the years. No matter the wooden stakes, crucifixes, braided garlic and hawthorn bushes that have been used against him-Dracula will never die.
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