Dracula Ballet

It’s true. We went to the Dracula ballet this weekend and it was fabulous. First we went to a Mexican restaurant in Boqueron called Pika Pika; it was rumored to have the best margaritas in the area- I found that this was not the case (however I am spoiled with my margaritas thanks to great makers like my mom, the Taylor’s and Dona Tomas). But Jim was really adamant we go so he treated us all which was a nice parting gift.

*Sidenote- ordering at restaurants is always a bit comical because Erica tries to describe celiac disease and how she can’t eat gluten and how things need to be cooked on separate pans and Bonnie-may (doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish) describes that she doesn’t eat any animal products. 

We got fairly sauced before the show- well Jim, Erica and I. Ok I had two drinks woooootttt! Leanne drove so she didn’t drink and Bonnie-may asked what a margarita is?! Boy, I sure am fortunate to have grown up in California. Anyways back to Dracula. The show was in Mayaguez which is about 45 minutes from us and 25 from the restaurant so we had to high-tail it out of there as we were running late.

Naturally on our way to the ballet we got lost. The street names in Puerto Rico are often different than the ones on the maps. I kept saying we should just ask for directions and 5 minutes later Jim goes, “I’m in a car full of women and I am the one who wants to ask for directions?”, no Jim, I already suggested that... So we stopped at a gas station and asked a hobo for directions- then he asked us for money- we gave him a dollar and realized the directions he gave us were wrong when we decided to call the theatre to ask what street it was on.

We showed up 20 minutes late to Dracula. We crept up to the balcony seats while the church-opera-theatre music blared. A large decadent chandelier hung from the ceiling, giving the theatre a true artistic vibe.  I don’t actually known the story of Dracula and we came late so I wasn’t to sure of what was going on except there was a man in tights and no shirt who’s heart got ripped out and then a vampire fed him her blood and then he became Dracula.  

For the rest of the show Dracula and his vampire posse roamed the stage eating every non-vampire character and turning them into vampires along the way. I kept waiting for Van Helsing to pop up and bust a stake in these guys but he never did. Some random long-haired-blonde-man/boy appeared at the end but just sort of stood there and didn’t do much, until he feigned sucking blood from someone and I realized he was a vampire too.

The choreography of the vampire attacks were hilarious- the vampire simulates sucking the persons neck and violently shakes their head side to side while the victim throws their quivering hands in the air and convulses their whole body to express the horrible crime committed against their virginal bodies.

The vampires had powdered white faces that were lined with black streaks on their cheekbones and the bridge of their nose. It was tribal and pretty good stage makeup. They conveyed an air of guile.  There was a large discrepancy in dancing abilities. Dracula and Mina were clearly the most talented and moved well together in their scenes. I particularly liked the scene were he first seduces Mina and they have a lovely duet followed by him turning her into a vampire. Hooray! Most of the other scenes dancers were slightly out of sync (this is why I was so vigilant in Arrowjam with being in-sync! It makes a world of difference in the performance value).

My favorite scene was the opening act after intermission.  We got a break from the latin monk chanting (Omnis spiritus….?) and we got some dancey/techno flavor for a scene with Dracula and his vamp ladies. Dracula stood elevated in the back of the stage with his cloak wrapped around him while his ladies did a modern/ballet dance for him. Even though the dancing was never in-sync through the entire performance it was highly entertaining.  

The show ended with the main vampire woman being staked. I don’t know who she was or why she got staked but the other vampires staked her. It was a good show to see on a Halloween weekend and apparently our cohorts, the chaperones of the large flocks of teenage girls, thought so too.

Dancing: 6.5

Production (aka lighting, music): 6

Overall entertainment value: 8.5