Attendees proceed with caution into the eerie woods of the Ventana ballet to witness Dracula’s tragic obsession with the Huntress and a new twist — the audience decides if she dies. Gruesome ghouls lurk around the room while beautiful broken dolls play with their childhood fears. A single step of her high heel brings light into the scene as the Witch offers comic relief with R-rated banter and upbeat musical numbers.
Ventana Ballet presented its sixth production of UNDEAD: Haunted House of Dances this spooky season at the Factory on 5th from Oct. 24 through 31. The twisted story draws in the audience as characters weave through the rows. AJ Garcia-Rameau (chemical engineering, ‘11), founder and director of Ventana Ballet, is a one-woman wonder – directing, choreographing, producing and starring in all her shows. Garcia-Rameau said she founded Ventana to offer opportunity, technical structure and accessibility.
“Here, we like to immerse the audience in the art,” said Garcia-Rameau. “(We) make it more accessible in a way that they can smell the sweat … and they can hear the breathing.”
During the 2024 season, Navaji David Nava (performance arts and dance, ‘21) received the position of assistant director and quickly began improving sets and costumes by repurposing materials from past shows and creating new costumes. He said he aims to make the performers feel amazing when they go on stage with full sets and costumes.
“Ventana Ballet employs so many diverse artists and gives them a chance to shine in the ways that they’ve trained for their entire life,” said David Nava. “There’s not many opportunities in Austin to do that.”
After auditioning for UNDEAD last year, Sydney Galier became a part of the Ventana family. Galier’s extensive background includes jazz, hip hop, ballet and modern. She said her favorite part of working with Ventana is the rehearsals that help prepare and train artists.
“(This year,) I feel more comfortable in the character and I feel more comfortable in the cast,” said Galier. “The costumes make it a little bit more exciting. I’ve just leaned into the whole experience all around.”
Dance, acting and a witchy drag queen came together for an hour and a half of scares and laughter. Each character clearly portrayed an individual’s talents and personality, from the zombies crawling on the floor to the werewolf spinning on its head.
“I like to call (UNDEAD) the gateway to the arts,” said Garcia-Rameau. “You get to learn about ballet and acting. You get up close to the beautiful costumes and set to see there’s a lot of work that goes into this.”
