#Dracula ballet

[lauralot89]

The Dracula Ballets

And Where to Watch Them

Dracula by Michael Pink: Originally staged in 1997, this ballet's plot is the closest to the novel. Seward does not appear in this version, his role being merged with Van Helsing's. Notable for eeriely beautiful and sometimes brutal choreography, the Harker and Dracula pas de deux, Renfield dancing in a straitjacket, and Quincey dancing briefly with a rifle.

Watch it here.

Dracula by Krzysztof Pastor: This version of Dracula portrays Mina as the reincarnation of the count's late wife, similar to Bram Stoker's Dracula. That film's score is also used in this ballet. Quincey does not appear in this version. Notable for Renfield's haunting dances, one of which he somehow manages while tied to other patients, Dracula's creepy servants, the Dracula Jonathan Tango, and an onstage blood transfusion.

Watch it here.

Dracula: The Romantic Ballet by Ben Stevenson. This ballet is set entirely in Transylvania with a new cast of characters. Besides Dracula, the mortal leads are villagers Flora and Svetlana, and Svetlana's suitor Frederick. Notable because this ballet wants you to know that Dracula fucks: he not only has his ever present brides, but an entire harem to go along with them. He even has locals employed in bringing maidens to his castle. Also this Dracula has seemingly human servants who are fine with it all, I guess.

Watch it here.

Dracula by David Nixon. This ballet intends to portray Dracula as a more ambiguous, nuanced creature. As Nixon puts it, ‘All creatures need to be loved and the love that Dracula shares with Mina transcends the boundaries of good and evil.’ Quincey does not appear in this version. Notable for the creepiest Old Dracula ever seen in anything (with the fun nervous habit of biting himself when he's trying not to bite others), a Seward and Renfield dance, and vampire brides with Christina Aguilera in "Lady Marmalade" hairstyles.

Watch it here (ignore the title and video description, they are incorrect).

Kont Dracula by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet. This is a 2013 adaptation for which I can find no information or video. If you know of a recording of this performance, please comment.

[vocalsynths]

Dracula (Vladimir Yaroshenko) and Jonathan (Patryk Walczak) tango from the Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa's version of Dracula (2024)

Video source provided by operanarodowa

[rodrickheffeley]

what I want to see happening to Lestat in season 3

[winter2468]

The Dracula ballet shows the aftermath of Dracula's harm in such a clever way.

After he returns to England, Jonathan needs a cane to walk, and he can't dance. He clearly wants to dance with Mina, but he's too ill, and Van Helsing dances with her instead.

After being fed on by Dracula, Lucy tries to act like she's fine, and tries to dance with Arthur, but she quickly collapses, unable to dance.

Being fed on by Dracula means that the characters can't dance - they can't perform their expected behaviour with in the medium of ballet. It's a really clever way of showing the isolating effects of the trauma brought on by Dracula's abuse.

[caprisonnne]

I too, have seen that Dracula ballet from Poland

reference:

[thegoatsongs]

The first 5 minutes of the Pink ballet Dracula

It features Jonathan Harker (during his brain fever era) having one of his nightmares. It evolves into him dreaming of his wedding with Mina.

There are "future visions" in Jonathan's nightmare wedding segment. Jonathan's fears manifest (e.g Jonathan being pushed away by Mina back to the Three Sisters) and some are representative of Mina later becoming a vampire (e.g the coffin scenes). At the very end, there's a very brief wedding consummation scene, but no nudity.

[per1w1nkl3]

in honor of dracula daily I watched the dracula ballet (with the milwaukee company, by micheal pink) and let me tell you it's so good!!! imo it's pretty book accurate, with a few limitations ofc (but they do include jonathan's queer dreams that may or may not be caused by the paprika)

anyway here are a few pictures

and here's the link:

i have a few thoughts but I'm hiding them under the tag in case anyone might want to watch it and go in completely blind. either way do yourselves a favor and go watch it!

i love the cool blue light for the vampires. I think I usually associate them with red so the blue was a nice change

love the brides. love how they usually are en pointe vs most other characters usually aren't. love their clothes

i like all the costumes actually

obsessed with dracula's entrance and him moving his arms like bat wings and just in general him acting very bat-like

LOVE dracula and jonathan's pas de deux. if I could I'd draw them i would.

actually the first act as a whole is so so good

the fact that jonathan walks with a cane is very cool. it would've been so easy to undermine his trauma a little, especially with the fact that it's a ballet. but no, dracula really does look scary and threatening. i just wished they kept it for a little longer.

jonathan being the first to see dracula is also great

the fact that lucy goes en point the moment she sees dracula hdhdhhdh

and tries to play it off like nothing happened :((

van helsing, seward (or is it quincey? he looks a little texan lmao) and arthur dancing over minas deathbed :(((

hello renfield!!

hello renfield dancing with his hands tied!!!!

it was quincey morris omg hii

mina and dracula pas de deux!! everytime the count is on stage is just so cool to watch

are those the people dracula killed?? idk but I love them

the fight. are you kidding me.

[strange-destinations]

some of my favorite bits from Michael Pink's Dracula ballet. because damn, that vampire sure can dance.

[awestruck-atrophy]

slowly making my way through all the gothic horror ballets. is there a Jekyll and Hyde ballet. I must know.

[phoenixyfriend]

Sometimes, oxytocin is stored in having a little discord watch party with your friends so you can liveblog the Milwaukee Dracula Ballet at each other.

Anyway, that was a lot of fun and I am very glad to have done it, thank you to all the friends who came 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[lauralot89]

why didn't I know there was a Dracula ballet and ESPECIALLY why didn't I know it has this dance with Dracula and Jonathan

[olibensstuff]

no, benny, don’t make a Dracula ballet ninja turtle au. Don’t do it benny.

[unchartedentity]

Shoutout to these guys from the Dracula Ballet selling flowers and newspapers in the background of the trainstation. My favorite characters fr.

Pssst you can watch the full ballet here

[winter2468]

So I watched the Dracula ballet

The woman who gives the crucifix to Jonathan is implied to have had her baby killed by Dracula, in fact, it's probable that her baby is the same one that Dracula later offers his brides.

All the characters of Transylvanian people have costumes that are similar but not identical - there are little differences to show they're not a homogenous mass, they're all individuals with their own lives.

There's a real emphasis on the trauma these people face having to live with Dracula every day.

The reveal of the brides is terrifying. I won't go into detail here because I don't want to spoil it but the appearance of the third bride is especially shocking.

The brides are wearing similar headdresses to the other Transylvanian women, but more elaborate. They might have been ordinary women once, but not any more.

When Dracula stops the brides from feeding on Jonathan and shows them the bag with the baby in it, they react like hungry animals. It's immediately clear that to them, Jonathan was nothing but meat.

When Jonathan's in hospital, he's crying out for Mina, but when she comes to comfort him, he is at first unable to recognise her.

After Jonathan returns to England, he uses a cane and is unable to dance like everyone else.

As he's struggling with the stairs, he sees Dracula and stumbles, and after Dracula has fed from Lucy, she stumbles on the stairs in the same place, and after that struggles to dance.

Renfield is the only character not wearing ballet shoes - he's barefoot.

Renfield is portrayed as unhinged, but still sympathetic.

The pas de deux between Dracula and Mina is so deliberately unsettling - Mina is so viscerally uncomfortable, and keeps trying to push Dracula away, but she can't.

Dracula repeatedly taunts the vampires he's made with the prospect of blood - they're addicts, he's the dispenser, and he's revelling in the power it gives him to torment them.

My only criticism is that the ending was quite rushed, but aside from that, a brilliant production.

[dionsysus]

Jonathan and the Brides.

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[lifblogs]

Behind the scenes for one of the dancers performing the Dracula ballet!