As soon as I walked into the studio today, I
immediately knew the company was getting ready for Dracula. Crosses, lanterns,
and capes were strung around the room; as well as a coffin and cage that
I couldn't ignore. Seven company dancers were preparing for
BalletMet’s upcoming show Dracula, on October 26th through
November 3rd at the Capitol Theatre.
Only the men were at the rehearsal today due to
the women and other characters actually getting their “fang fitting” for the
show. The scene that was first being rehearsed included opening the coffin and
a realistic beheading. Much of this scene was simply the dancers learning
blocking around the coffin. Our Ballet Mistress, Rebecca Rodriguez-Hodory spoke with me about the difficulty of
the rehearsal. She described that dancers don’t normally
get theater exercises; they simply have to learn acting from the way
in which they dance. Ms. Rodriguez-Hodory also
explained that with each show, a different set of dancers is used, and some
dancers even have to learn more than one character.
Even with just the rehearsal process for this
scene starting, the overall vibe of what each dancer was portraying fits
Dracula perfectly. The disturbing props, powerful operatic music, and
passionate dancing all form a BalletMet performance that is sure to fulfill
your expectations; not to mention, all happening just in time for the Halloween
season.
Jonathan Hill - Marketing Intern
