Ballet Victoria presents Frankenstein at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley, Washington

Ballet Victoria, based on Vancouver Island, is including Whidbey Island, Washington in its tour schedule for 2018-2019.  Now in its 16th season, the British Columbia ballet company is presenting Frankenstein at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts on Friday, November 2. The timing is fitting, as this is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

Horror, romance and science fiction are galvanized into this new ballet driven by the music of Verdi, Shostakovich, Dukas, Catalani and Adam. As the program notes state: "Mary Shelley's original gothic novel meets Caralli and Perrot's timeless ballet Giselle in an alchemy brought to life." 

Ballet Victoria is a boutique professional ballet company with four yearly productions. As the website states: "Our performances are dramatic, technically demanding and often laced with humour." The ballet company has produced more than 73 new works since its inception.

Ballet Victoria's Artistic & Executive Director Paul Destrooper has an impressive dance background. He joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1993, and was also a principal dancer with Alberta Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Destrooper has choreographed more than 30 works and nine full-length ballets, and his international dance career included working with renowned directors, dancers and choreographers and has been with Ballet Victoria since 2007. About Frankenstein, he states: "Very few people are still creating 'story ballets' -- to reach across not just to different cultures but to different generations, it has to make sense." 

Ballet Victoria presents Frankenstein

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts 

Langley, Washington

Friday, November 2, 2018 | 7:30 PM

Tickets available online