Looking for Something Different This Weekend? How About a Vampire Ballet?

"When was the last time you saw a professionally performed classical and contemporary ballet with live musicians about vampires?" asks Shaun Dougherty, creator and composer of Irene, First State Ballet Theatre's unique new production, premiering for one show only this Friday, February 21, at The Grand Opera House.

It's really a rhetorical question. While Wilmington has seen some dark ballet, thanks to Fringe Wilmington, a vampire ballet is something new, made only more enticing by the fact that this is a FSBT original. The story centers around Irene, a beautiful young dancer who joins the most prestigious ballet company in the world and finds herself struggling with mysterious odd rehearsal schedules and constant late-night parties.

Dougherty, a musician who is primarily a jazz and rock guitarist, got hooked on ballet thanks the location of his teaching studio -- inside The Grand, where FSBT is also located.

"I met (FSBT director) Pasha casually, and just started going to all their performances," says Dougherty. "They're a very professional and talented school. Once the ballet idea popped into my head, I literally just walked into their office one day and pitched my idea. After several more chats, we all agreed this is something we can and should do, and here we are!"

Irene aims to bring the beauty of the ballet to a new audience, while appealing to established ballet fans, with a mix of classical and contemporary music and its seductive horror theme.

"There is a lot of talent here in little Delaware," says Dougherty, "and this is what I do -- I write original music and put together shows. This is my love, this is my passion and I want people to enrich their lives with  the beauty of ballet. I'm just along for the ride."

Purchase tickets at ticketsatthegrand.org.

Snapshots from the DE Premiere of Jeremy O'Keefe's Somewhere Slow

Wilmington native Jeremy O'Keefe's second feature film, Somewhere Slow, had its Delaware premiere over the weekend at the Wilmington Drama League, with a red-carpet reception and two big-screen showings. Enthusiastic audiences got the chance to Q&A with O'Keefe and star Graham Patrick Martin ("Major Crimes," "Two and a Half Men"), who shared some behind-the-scenes stories and in-depth conversation about the darkly comic drama. (Fun Fact: in it's earliest incarnation, it was a Rom-Com!) If you missed the screenings of this moving "grown-up coming of age" film (and it really is a great film, regardless of our Delaware bias), it's available now to rent or purchase on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video!

Graham Patrick Martin and Jeremy O'Keefe with WDL Production Manager Kathy Buterbaugh

Martin and O'Keefe's Q&A, with moderator Elizabeth Lockman

Somewhere Slow Q&A, 2/15/14

Hiker’s Art at Blue Ball Barn: Alapocas through the seasons

Program leader Lynn McDowell's Stream and Sky

When Delaware State Park employee Elizabeth Drummond and photographer Lynn McDowell began guiding public nature hikes with photography in mind, the results were a wonderful mix of photographic talent, healthful hikes and…now…a photography exhibit in the Blue Ball Barn  of Alapocas Run State Park.

After a year of Ms. Drummond encouraging people to hike and look carefully and Ms. McDowell telling the hikers to look with a camera, the two realized that they had amassed some impressive photographs.  Their hiker companions used cell phones and digital cameras and brought myriad levels of experience to the project, but the collaboration seems to have inspired one and all to view the seasons with creativity and imagination. 

Gavin's Reaching for the Sky

The youngest photographer whose work is on display is Gavin, 12, who attended the opening with his father and brother.  Gavin had taken a photograph of a dead tree from an angle where you see the trunk, but he managed to get the lacework of black twigs in perfect focus against a purplish blue winter sky.  The quality of the photograph makes it hard to believe he took it with a Panasonic Point and Shoot.



Don Thureau's Snake on the Rocks

On the far wall was a photograph which seemed to be of a swirl of colored autumn leaves.  Up close, you can see it is a snake which photographer Don Thureau photographed just as he extended his bright red tongue as he contemplated his human audience. 

Virginia Lockman's A Spider's Web

With McDowell’s encouragement, Virginia Lockman took a dramatic picture of a spider web.  McDowell decided to bring out the light by spraying the web with droplets of water which made a prismatic effect.

The project truly seems to have taken hold, with the joy and exuberance of both professional and amateur photographers excited to collaborate and capture the beauty of the Delaware State Parks on their hikes. The exhibit will be on display at Blue Ball Barn through March 16.

See DEstateparks.com.