Dracula, February 9, 2013, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

Atlanta's Ballet's production of Michael Pink's Dracula was largely ok. I was not blown away by Philip Feeney's music, but it did the job. The sets and costumes were quite nice. The dancers were both technically very good and committed to their characters, but the choreography was only rarely compelling. 

One of the highlights was supposed to be the duet between Dracula (Jonah Hooper) and Jonathan Harker (Jesse Tyler). Mr. Hooper's Dracula was suitably creepy, although it was unclear to me what exactly he was after with Mr. Harker. He dominates him, but to what end? His intentions with Lucy (Alessa Rogers) and Mina Harker (Tara Lee) were more clear, and his duet of near-seduction of Mina to the vampire lifestyle was powerful due to the clear character transition made by Ms. Lee. His duet with Lucy was upstaged by the escape of his wig from his head, which slithered down Ms. Rogers back and onto the floor at one point. 

The program notes were extensive, but it was still somewhat difficult to follow the complicated story. Best Freudian slip in the program notes: "Only Harker is sensitive to the impending dancer (sic)." The shows dragged a bit at the beginning of the second act as we waited for Dracula to appear for tea at a hotel in England, but the surreal slow-motion of the background dancers as he appears to Lucy was a nice touch. The work of the vampire ensemble in the final scene, led by Ms. Rogers, was more exciting than the final vanquishing of Dracula. Mmm, steak.

Secret, February 3, 2013, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center

I had heard of CORE Performance Company back when I lived in Houston, but never caught one of their shows. Then I moved to Atlanta in 2006, and since then had STILL not caught one of their shows. Since they are based in Atlanta and perform in both cities, you'd think...but no. So when I saw that they were performing something on a Sunday afternoon in a venue where it would be reasonable to take my four-year-old daughter with me, I jumped at the chance. Seeing that the work was co-choreographed by Becky Valls of University of Houston, whose work I had seen here and here, made it even more appealing.

This dance was a set piece made specifically for the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, which is housed in a 1920 mansion built by a son of the founder of Coca Cola (so it's "verra nice"). The performance took place throughout the center of the main floor, including the grand stairway. There were musicians in the corners, and the six dancers sometimes used their shoes to define where they were going to be dancing.

I admit that it's been quite a while since I've watched modern dance, and maybe I've lost my taste for it. Or maybe this piece was too disjointed. It was certainly awkward to move around after the dancers and then find out you were sitting where they planned to dance next. There was not much of a narrative to the performance, and the music was no help. The only thing that kept me interested was watching my daughter's response to a dancer being 2 feet away from her. She remained engaged for almost all of the 70-minute performance.