Temporary Goodbye Harker is at the train station preparing to board a train to Transylvania. Mina has come to the station to see him off. The young lovers, not yet separated, are already looking forward to their reunion. They say their temporary goodbyes at the train station in this duet.
Harker’s Journey Harker travels by carriage over harrowing roads through the remote countryside of Transylvania. He reads letters from Mina which offer him comfort as he remembers the home he has left behind. Local villagers warn Harker to stay away from Dracula’s castle, filling him with ominous tales of a dark and sinister presence that terrorizes the countryside. Harker draws courage from his letters from Mina and presses onward.
Dracula
The Legend In Motion
When choreographer Jennifer Deckert approached me about composing a score for Dracula, she had a vision of a very specific style. She envisioned a steam-punk gothic ballet, and she wanted the character of Dracula to be danced by a woman. We talked about a score that was equal parts melody and atmosphere, with recurring musical motifs to highlight certain characters and circumstances. The result was a mixture of melodic romanticism and algorithmic textures and samples, as if steam-manufactured electronica had been present in the nineteenth century.
Our collaborative process worked like this: Jen and I would discuss the story and conflict that needed to happen in each scene. Jen would tell me what mood and emotion the scene and characters should portray and the approximate time that each section should be, and I would come back to her with drafts. We would go back and forth tailoring the music and the choreography together until everything fit together.
This ballet has been performed at the University of Wyoming, Wyoming Ballet, and Black Hills Dance Theatre.
Count Dracula When Harker arrives at Dracula's castle, he cannot help but feel the evil that surrounds him. He is unsettled as he approaches the gates, but once inside, Count Dracula’s hospitality and generosity help to put Harker at ease.
Slow Seduction Once Harker falls under the seduction of Dracula’s spell, he is unable to resist Dracula’s diabolical appetites.
Hampstead Horror When the body of a murdered child is found, action must be taken. Harker and Van Helsing set out to unearth the vampires lair.
Mina Left Alone When Van Helsing leads a hunting party to find the Vampires, Mina is left at home alone. Time stands still as the clock strikes midnight, and a vulnerable Mina finds herself visited by Dracula who appears to her from a mist.
Sleepwalking Lucy is sleepwalking along the beach on a moonlit night. Sounds of the nightlife she passes blend together as if in a dream from which she is unable to wake. She floats in and out of consciousness, pulled toward an irresistible force that she cannot fight. At the end of her journey is Dracula. She cannot resist his spell, and soon becomes the next victim to his bite.
All music composed and performed by Sean Stone
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Copyright 2023 Sean Stone
All rights reserved
Images courtesy of Don Turner Photography