By Ugne Gilyte
Despite the sun deciding to linger a little longer and bless us with its delightful afternoons and evenings this year, you can’t help but feel the ghoulish season approaching. And what better way to initiate this time than to spend your evening in the home of the Polish National Ballet watching a dark yet captivating performance?
That is in fact how I spent my last Sunday evening with two of my dear friends, and I have to admit that I bore witness to the most stunning ballet performance that I have ever seen.
The ballet was mostly inspired by the book Dracula by Bram Stoker. However, the directors of the production did not limit themselves by sticking strictly to the original piece. The ballet explores Dracula as an emotive character who is capable of falling in love and getting his heart broken. Furthermore, the original story had more blood than the performance. The directors had made it very clear that they were aiming for “emotion, not blood.”
As the theater lights dimmed and the stage lights brightened, my attention was immediately caught by the lavish costumes and set design. Even if you were sitting in the far back of the balconies you could see the incredible detail and attention that went into the pieces. Long robes and ruffled dresses moved across the stage seamlessly with the dancer, while the gold and silver embroidery seemed to reflect in your eyes. What made the costumes appear even more extravagant was the volume of the garments paired with the elegant essence of ballet. No bright shades of red, yet the show was not drowning in plain blacks either. The costume designer had a very clever way of incorporating darker shades by using different textures and patterns to give the costumes more depth, as plain black tends to look 2 dimensional, especially if you are sitting far away from the stage.
Although dramatic and eye-catching, the costumes did not distract from the rest of the performance. The “effortless” performance of the dancers was mesmerizing to watch. As they glided across the stage you could only imagine the time that went into the preparation of the final performance. The emotion that is conveyed through the movements and expressions of the performers made the performance more entertaining and easy to follow. Of course, a lot of the credit must go to the choreographer for the arrangements; nevertheless, the show would be nothing without the beautiful work of the ballet dancers.
One of my favorite characters in the show was Mina because she was the love interest of Jonathan and Dracula, and throughout the story had romantic feelings for both of them. Through the well-arranged choreography the audience was able to distinguish the different relationship dynamics. For instance, Mina’s movements were more expressive when with Dracula than with Jonathan, in which case they were more coordinated and controlled.
The set was heavily inspired by dark gothic themes, with beautiful pieces that could not be missed. The sets did not overcrowd the stage and perfectly executed the mood of the scene. The set designer made the darker shades stand out by adding texture to the set pieces or sometimes even a slight shimmer. One of the things that stood out to me were the scenes in London, where the location is distinguished by a huge backdrop that had a map of the city. The light beige colors also contrasted greatly with the majority of the ballet settings differentiating the comfort zone of some of the main characters like Mina and Jonathan. Yet in the second act, when Dracula invades the place, the lights dim and the backdrop of London’s map is no longer visible, as Dracula has claimed the place as his own.
Another thing that I was really fond of was that despite being able to take the quickest route and drench each scene with blood, the director and the composer decided to invest more time into the music and the overall performance of the piece. “Emotion, not blood,” was one of the statements, which guided the production team through the making of Dracula. This allowed the performance to be more intricate by having to use various elements of performance and production to transform this macabre story on stage.
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