Universal Horrors

It all started when Executive and Artistic Director Dyana Sonik-Henderson found herself captivated by the 1925 gothic and melodramatic silent picture Phantom of the Opera. With a spark of creative inspiration, she quickly became enthralled with old monster pictures and began to experiment with how to transform these iconic movie moments and stories into dance.The result is several short works that bring the classic horror movie genre of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s back to the stage and in 3D. Combining Broken Rhythms’ innovative rhythmical contemporary style you’re in for a captivating and nostalgic experience.

Choreographed by Dyana Sonik-Henderson the performance features four dancers, Sonik-Henderson included, who channel the spirits of The Phantom of the Opera, Laughing Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and celestial sci-fi beings.

The show is entirely movement based, featuring no spoken words, and accompanied by haunting, melancholic, and occasionally electric musical selections. An expansive screen on stage projects background scenes from horror films, elevating the terror factor of the set.

In one piece, the dancers were cloaked in flowing, seemingly-illuminating floor length dressing gowns. They made graceful, spirited, breathy movements, and I felt as though I was watching a wicked seance unfold. The dancers were like fiery candles, burning bright and then extinguishing on the floor of the stage as the theatre lights cut to black. In another piece, as wild werewolves, the dancers crawled and contorted on stage, unfolding their limbs into the air, as though they were rising from their dark depths to the summoning full moon.

Universal Horrors pays homage to some of the most iconic horror film monsters and does the undead justice. It’s a captivating, fully fleshed out dance performance, and is recommended for those who love strong movements and things that go bump in the night.