“Stunning…”    “Provocative…”  “An extravaganza that guarantees a good time…”

Reviews from across the Southeast agree that Columbia City Ballet’s production of “Dracula: Ballet with a Bite” is the perfect way to acknowledge the haunted season.

This year, kick off your Halloween by attending Dracula performances at the Emma Kelly Theater on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.

The ballet was conceived and choreographed by William Starrett, the executive and artistic director of the Columbia City Ballet. Starrett has been affiliated with Columbia City Ballet for 30 years.

The production uses approximately 25 Statesboro Youth Ballet dancers, who auditioned for Starrett in August. Local rehearsals are conducted by Shay T. Morgan, Statesboro Youth Ballet director. Morgan has a long-standing professional relationship with Starrett, for whom she was a guest artist while working and teaching with Ballet South, a former in you affiliate company, in Savannah.

The Statesboro production of “Dracula: Ballet with a Bite” is sponsored by East Georgia Regional Medical Center.
Dracula uses lots of impressive effects to enhance the fantastic dancing, including surround sound music, strobe lights, flying bats, people walking through walls, coffins, gates that open and close on their own, and realistic looking blood. Starrett said that in that regard, “It's your typical Halloween fare, definitely not your stereotypical ballet with girls running around in fluffy tutu’s”

Starrett originally created the ballet in 1991 together with Thomas Semanski, music composer and arranger, and Robert Kemsley. When asked about his inspiration for the ballet, Starrett said that “Bram Stoker’s original Dracula was just a great story.”

In conjunction with the Dracula performances, the Averitt Center for the Arts is hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Oct. 25 from 12:30-6 p.m. Anyone who donates blood during this drive will receive a $5 off coupon to be used towards a Dracula ticket.

“We felt this was a fun and beneficial way to get the community involved in this production,” said Tim Chapman, Averitt Center Executive Director.

The Averitt Center is also hosting Bites of the ‘Boro, a dessert tasting event showcasing local restaurants and caterers.

There is a $5 entrance fee to Bites, located in the Averitt Center’s Main Gallery from 4-6 p.m. Participating restaurants and caterers will be accepting reservations for holiday parties at this time. Bites of the ’Boro is a perfect time to pre-taste and schedule for your upcoming holiday party.

Tickets for “Dracula: Ballet with a Bite” can be purchased in advance by calling (912) 212-2787 or stopping by the Emma Kelly Theater Box Office Tuesday-Friday from 1-5:30 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door unless the performances sell out.

For more information about the Blood Drive, the Master Class or Bites of the ’Boro, contact the Averitt Center at (912) 212-2787.

The Averitt Center for the Arts is not a government agency and does not receive unrestricted funds from grants or local, state or federal funds. A large part of funding is from individual supporters. The Averitt Center for the Arts is a 501 (c) 3 organization. This program is sponsored in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. The Council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.