The Columbia City Ballet had one of the first five Dracula ballets in the United States.
It remains one of the best.
“Dance Magazine deemed it one of the Top Five in the world,” says Columbia City Ballet executive and artistic director William Starrett, who created the ballet.
“It was so popular, I created ‘Dracula’s Revenge,’ then did ‘Frankenstein,’” Starrett says. “This original Dracula remains the favorite. Everyone wants to see this.”
“Dracula: Ballet with a Bite” will be presented Oct. 20 at the Johnny Mercer Theatre.
“We did it in Savannah a few years back but couldn’t get the date we wanted,” Starrett says. “This time the date is perfect. It’s a great way to start the Halloween season and break out costumes early.”
A Halloween contest will take place in conjunction with the performance. “There will be a $100 cash prize, plus second and third place prizes,” Starrett says.
“The categories are Most Creative, Most Inventive, Most Humorous,” he says. “We’re expecting people to really dress up.”
The ballet is based on Bram Stoker’s novel, although Starrett has taken some licenses. “I gave Mina and Jonathan Harker a daughter, Victoria, so the vampires could kidnap her,” Starrett says.
The idea to create a Dracula ballet came from Savannah. “It was the idea of Penny Stephenson, the founding director of Ballet South, which is based in Savannah,” Starrett says.
“She approached me in the early ’90s. She wanted to do a Dracula ballet and wanted to know if I knew of one.”
At the time, there were only a few Dracula-based ballets in existence. Starrett’s board of directors wanted him to branch out more, and a Dracula ballet certainly fit the bill. “I’m more of a classicist, but I got more courageous,” he says.
“I went through a big relationship breakup personally, a seven-year breakup, so I started partying. I turned into a wild party person at the same time I was creating this ballet.
“The wilder I got, the more creative the ballet became,” Starrett says. “I guess it can go under the guise of artistic research.”
The score was composed by Thomas E. Semanski, who was given an ASCAP Award for it.
“The set we conceived and got from Cincinnati,” Starrett says.
“The costumes were done by our full-time costume designer, Alexis Doktor,” he says. “The undead are very goth.”
Visuals and special effects were designed by Columbia City Technical Director Barry Sparks. The ballet stars Robert Michalski as the Prince of Darkness and Regina Willoughby as his intended victim, Lucy.
The current vampire craze has helped sustain the ballet.
“Our current Count Dracula was more inspired by the ‘Twilight’ and ‘True Blood’ characters,” Starrett says.
“My original inspiration was Bela Lugosi. Since then, it’s evolved to the vampires used in pop culture.”
That decision was a wise one.
“The ballet’s popularity has continued to catapult,” Starrett says. “In Columbia, it’s the most sought-after ticket.”
It should be noted that this ballet is for adults only. “It is scary with blood,” Starrett says. “It is suspenseful, sensual and adult.”
While Columbia City Ballet is known for such family friendly productions as “Snow White,” “The Little Prince” and “The Nutcracker,” “Dracula” is not one of them. “Maybe high school age is OK,” Starrett says.
“That’s why we don’t do any matinees,” Starrett says. “There have been a lot of children conceived after a performance of our ‘Dracula.’”
You see, it’s not just the scare factor that means no children allowed. “It’s a very sensual ballet,” Starrett says. “It’s really the adult thing to do at Halloween.
“It’s a great ballet for first timers who have never been to a ballet before,” he says. “It’s a great one to bring a husband or boyfriend to, because he’s guaranteed he’s going to get lucky that night.”
In addition to sensual and scary, “Dracula” also is beautiful, Starrett says. “Balletomanes in Savannah who really love dance will find plenty to love,” he says. “Everything is totally white, contrasted by dark evil, the seductive frenzy of the castle. You see that in the costumes, the proper hats and parasols.
“I’m all about contradiction and contrast and I love that,” Starrett says. “The story is very clear and it’s a visually stimulating ballet. It’s like the approach of a Broadway show.”
IF YOU GO
What: The Columbia City Ballet presents “Dracula: Ballet with a Bite”
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 20
Where: Johnny Mercer Theater, Savannah Civic Center, 301 West Oglethorpe Ave.
Cost: $18 and up
Info: www.savannahcivic.com, 912-651-6556, 800-351-7469