What
better way to spend Halloween weekend than with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theather (PBT) Season Opener, "Dracula". One of my favorite
things is going to a ballet because of the beauty but his time the show is based on
something mysterious- Bram Stoker’s 1887 novel. The last time that PBT
preformed this show was in 2011, so I did not want to miss the experience of something
beautifully eerie!
Reflection
We
all know the story of Dracula but when paired with extravagant costumes, a 19-century
Transylvanian setting, special lighting effects, the symphony orchestra and the
skill of a top notch ballet company, we get an unique visual fantasy of the story.
The
ballet opens with Dracula and his
brides awakening from the their coffins in the castle. The brides wearing flowing white “web like” dresses appear to
float as they dance and some actually glide in the
air! As they dance they appeared ghost- like under the spell of Dracula who makes a grand appearance spreading an ornate cape. He is powerfully mesmerizing as the brides
all desire his attention.
The
second Act in contrast takes place in a bright colorful village. There is lighthearted
music with the hustle and bustle of the villagers dancing during a birthday celebration. The festivities are halted when one of the villagers (Flora) arrives pale and zombie like from an encounter with Dracula.
Act II had some of the best dancing as the two lovers, Svetlana and Frederick, dance
together and also dance solo. Svetlana is on
point spinning like a top and Frederick shows
off his strength during his turns and
height in his jumps.
Lighting
strikes as Dracula enters the village, and he abducts Svetlana whisking her off in his carriage back to his castle. At the castle in Act III, the ghost- like brides are back preforming a dark,
creepy but beautiful dance. Then as the light rays of dawn commence, Dracula explodes with the use of pyrotechnics.
This beautifully eerie ballet, that tells the well known story with movement, will even impress those
who have limited ballet experience or thought they would not enjoy a
ballet. I can’t wait to see what else PBT
has to offer this season.
(Dracula which runs Oct 27 to Oct 29th at Benadum Center kicks off the PBT 2017-18 season.)
Other Sources
Pittsburgh Ballet Theather https://www.pbt.org/
https://pbt.culturaldistrict.org/
