Who says ballet has to be all tutus, tiptoes and Christmas? Melbourne, Dracula has entered the chat.
Forget waiting until December to dust off your fanciest outfit and go to the ballet. This October, Her Majesty’s Theatre is getting deliciously dark with Dracula, a gothic, cinematic reimagining of Bram Stoker’s immortal tale of forbidden love, sacrifice and, naturally, a little bit of blood-sucking.
Fresh from sold-out seasons in London’s West End and the US, BIG Live’s critically acclaimed Dracula has returned to Melbourne for a limited run from 1-25 October 2026.
And honestly? It’s the perfect excuse for a night out.
A ballet, but make it gothic
Choreographed by Joel Burke, Dracula takes everything you think you know about the classic ballet experience and throws it into the shadows.
There’s no dialogue. No narrator popping up to explain what’s happening. Instead, the story unfolds entirely through movement, music, lighting and some seriously expressive choreography.
And that is where Dracula really sinks its teeth in.
The dancers become the story. The living feel fluid, romantic and almost weightless, while the supernatural characters move with something far more unnatural. Sharp, staccato movements collide with softer classical sequences, creating a constant visual contrast between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
Basically: alive = graceful and romantic. Dead = absolutely not okay.
The ghosts? Terrifyingly good.
One of the standouts is the production’s use of the ghostly ensemble.
Their movements shift between sharp, eerie gestures and almost hypnotically flowing sequences, echoing the feeling of something that is both beautiful and deeply unsettling. There’s a constant sense of quiet menace, the kind where you know something is lurking nearby, even when nothing is happening.
Which is particularly impressive when you remember that the dancers are doing all of this en pointe.
Yes. Their feet are doing things your feet would file a formal complaint about.
Let there be light… or maybe don't.
The lighting design deserves its own standing ovation.
Every choice feels deliberate, working seamlessly with the choreography and blocking to highlight even the smallest movement. Shadows become part of the storytelling, changing the environment and atmosphere without needing a single word.
And when we say dark, we mean dark.
The production isn't afraid to let the stage disappear into shadow, creating moments where you're left wondering what, or who, might emerge next.
The set design follows the same philosophy. Transitions are clean and subtle, allowing the story to move between locations without pulling you out of the moment.
It feels cinematic without trying too hard to be cinematic.
No dialogue? No problem.
If you're new to ballet, the idea of sitting through two hours of people communicating exclusively through movement might sound a little intimidating.
But Dracula makes a pretty convincing case for giving it a go.
With no dialogue, every gesture becomes part of the storytelling. A glance, a change in pace, the positioning of a body or a sudden shift in movement can completely change the feeling of a scene.
And because you're not being handed every detail, there's room to interpret what you're seeing.
It's storytelling without words, and honestly, once you settle into it, it's pretty mesmerising.
The soundtrack is doing A LOT
The score, led by Emmy Award-winning composer Jason Fernandez, brings together an impressive collection of classical masterpieces, including works by Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Debussy.
The result is appropriately dramatic, haunting and romantic, with the music constantly pushing and pulling against the movement on stage.
It is, in other words, the perfect soundtrack for a story about a centuries-old vampire having an extremely complicated time.
So, should you go?
Yes. Especially if you're looking for something a little different to do in Melbourne this October.
Dracula feels like the perfect gateway into ballet for anyone who has previously thought, “Hmm, I don't know if ballet is really my thing.”
You don't need to know your Swan Lake from your Sleeping Beauty. You don't need to understand every technical detail. And you certainly don't need to own a pair of opera glasses.
You just need to be willing to sit back and let the story unfold.
Plus, there's something undeniably fun about getting dressed up, heading into the city and spending an evening inside one of Melbourne's most beautiful theatres watching an entire gothic nightmare unfold through dance.
Who needs to wait for Christmas to go to the ballet when Dracula is in town?
THE DETAILS
What: Dracula
When: 1-25 October 2026
Where: Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne
Duration: 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval
Choreography: Joel Burke
Music: Featuring works by Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Debussy
The vibe: Gothic romance, dramatic choreography, spooky ghosts and an excellent excuse to get dressed up.
Colin's tip: Make a night of it. Get dinner, put on something unnecessarily fabulous and head to the theatre. Dracula only comes to Melbourne for a limited time, and frankly, he deserves the outfit.
