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Tara Birtwhistle & Johnny Chang, Dracula -R.W.B
DRACULA BALLET IS DEAD SEXY
Smart, seductive and dead sexy, Dracula is a journey into the darkest places of the soul. The theme
of being torn between the prim and uptight sexual norms of Victorian society is starkly contrasted
with the forbidden and decadent biddings of the underworld. With the neck bite serving as a
metaphor for sexual awakening, the opening scene’s dance is symbolic of the struggle between a
waning good-girl’s self and the emergence of a hungry inner vampire. This theme is interwoven
throughout the ballet.
The production’s tricks are clever, complete with flying bats, dancing gargoyles, mysterious
transformations, decapitation and impaling. With set & costume design by Paul Daigle and lighting
design by David Morrison, every change of place is discernible with a defining mood and
atmosphere; and an ambience only heightened by Gustav Mahler’s haunting score. Principal
dancers Tara Birtwhistle, Vanessa Lawson and Jaime Vargas perform the lead roles in the
production.
In programming the ballet as part of the danceAlive! season, Ballet British Columbia’s Artistic
Director, John Alleyne has this to say: “The haunting and otherworldly Dracula is a sumptuous,
erotically charged gothic ballet that transports the audience with its expressionistic, avant-garde
images and seductive choreography.”
About the production, CBC Radio critic Robert Enright has said, “I’m utterly seduced…brilliantly
conceived…there’s sensuality in Godden’s dance that I find absolutely startling.” Pamela
Anthony, from The Edmonton Journal, wrote, “Mark Godden’s Dracula is a ballet that will live on.
Dance that swirls in dark shadows infused with sexuality, and lifted by unexpected humour: This
is Gothic ballet at its most appealing. From opening prologue to final scene, there is rumour of
longevity to the production, a hint of the magic that makes the myths of Dracula so immortal.”
The RWB’s version of Dracula seduced Winnipeg film director Guy Maddin into making it into a
movie which received international acclaim. The film earned Maddin an International Emmy for
Best Arts Programming, two Junos, the grand prize at Sitges International Festival in Spain and a
Gemini nomination for Principal Dancer Tara Birtwhistle.