‘Dracula’ Still Rough Around The Edges

“Dracula - The Ballet” by the Conservatory Ballet Theatre Saturday, Oct. 28, at The Met

Conservatory Ballet Theatre’s “Dracula” is a fascinating concept as a ballet, but it was a little uneven in its execution. Saturday night’s half-filled house at The Met was split between fascinated and distracted.

On the positive side, there was some very creative choreography and strong dancing. This is the third year artistic director Rita Brodie has staged the event, and the dance has evolved to express the salient points in the plot, using the talent available to the utmost.

The cast’s skills on the whole were solid and dependable, with a few sparkling moments elevating the mix. Daniel Barnett, in the title role, was on stage for most of the evening. He exhibited admirable stamina, control and focus in the portrayal of the evil prince.

Kudos are also in order for Lara Hollingshead and Jaci Rice, who danced as the victims, Mina and Lucy. In this story, women are stuck with the “bit” parts, but both of their solo moments and duets with Dracula were marked with intensity.

Ensemble dancing was wellrehearsed, with only a few slight slips in timing.

For the most part, the choreography seemed to focus on details of position and posture: grips and stances. These were intricate and infinitely varied, creating snapshotlike friezes to depict the necessary mood.

This plot’s mood calls for a range from somber to funereal, with even an evil shadow cast over the debutante party. Due to this slowmoving atmosphere and possibly to the limiting size of the Met stage, I sometimes felt the motion of the dance consisted of getting from one snapshot pose to the next. Maybe to get more leaping and flitting, one just needs a happier vehicle.

Other factors in the production brought down the whole experience several notches for me. The acting was uneven. Homer Mason as Dr. Helsing captured the spirit of his character to perfection, but he couldn’t quite capture a consistent accent and seemed to be improvising a few lines. And the production seemed to be a series of skits loosely tied together.

“Dracula” is a good conception that needs some rough edges smoothed over. The core, the dancing, is not bad at all for an amateur company, but some of the production at the edges could be perked up. “Dracula” is definitely worth revamping.