Domingo Rubio in Ballet Quad Cities' Dracula at the Scottish Rite Cathedral -- October 20 and 21.

Dracula performances: Friday, October 20, and Saturday, October 21, 8 p.m.

Dinner with Dracula: Saturday, October 21, 5 p.m.

Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL

Arriving just in time for Halloween, the professional dancers of Ballet Quad Cities will stage choreographer Deanna Carter's adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic horror novel, with the notorious count portrayed by international dance star Domingo Rubio 10 years after he first danced Dracula for the Rock Island-based company.

A veteran of the esteemed Joffrey Ballet who has appeared on-screen in Save the Last Dance and Robert Altman's The Company, Rubio returns to the role of Stoker's bloodthirsty count in a production filled with seductive vampires, frightening mental patients, and spine-tingling visuals. Reviewing Ballet Quad Cities' 2013 presentation of Dracula, the Reader's Thom White wrote, “The sexuality of the piece is intoxicating, with enough horrific elements to both shock and please.” Regarding the ballet's lead dancer, White added that Rubio's “always-graceful arcs and sweeps seemed to emanate from his commanding tone.”

Joining Rubio in Dracula are Branson Bice as Van Helsing, Nicholas Garlo as Renfield, and Marie Buser as the doomed ingénue Lucy, with the rest of the cast filled out by fellow company members Lauren Carmen, Aubrey Clayton, Ashley Coffin, Allegra Holland, Dominique Jenssen, Alexander Kingma, Bridget Polei, and Mica Ward. And preceding the ballet's nightly performances will be the 25-minute Transylvania Twist, a stylistically varied series of Halloween-themed vignettes with new choreography by Ballet Quad Cities' Artistic Director Courtney Lyon, Ballet Mistress Margaret King, and Dracula's Van Helsing Bice.

In addition to Dracula's 8 p.m. performances on October 20 and 21, Ballet Quad Cities will host “Dinner with Dracula” at 5 p.m. on Saturday, a fundraising event featuring cocktails, live music, a silent auction, and dinner prior to the ballet. Tickets to Dracula are $15-25, with “Dinner with Dracula” tickets available for $60, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)786-3779 or visiting BalletQuadCities.com.

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