I had always been fascinated by the mythology surrounding Dracula. Francis Ford Coppola’s film had moved me very much, being, amongst other things, a metaphor for AIDS. In my personal life, I had just denied someone who was HIV positive because I was afraid. It suddenly struck me that the choice between light and darkness was in fact Mina’s choice in Dracula, that Count Dracula could be viewed as the embodiment of dangerous, dark and heady erotic instincts, and Jonathan as the light of compatible love, the tame husband of a tedious “happily ever after”.

I designed Dracula as an all-white work. I don’t consider it a successful show, but looking back on it I find it full of inspiring (though unexplored at the time) ideas. Dracula’s persona was split into four parts – the Count, his Shadow-Messenger, the Killer Wolf, and the tender Prince Bat. His shadow was an all-black doppelgänger dancer synchronised with, and at times detached from, the Count. All dreams sent by Dracula were choreographed on swings. As regards sound, performers were miked, and their breathing and exclamations distorted to heighten the nightmarish atmosphere.

The original score was composed by Yorgos Koumendakis, who thought up the brilliant twist of composing religious music (Renaissance-style choral chants) for Dracula’s scenes. The costumes, co-designed by Lili Pezanou and myself, were based on the work of Issey Miyake. Lili’s set design featured the masterful idea of white iron beams that descend from the ceiling to form sloping pathways upon which the dancers performed.

Jonathan is yet another man to appear suitcase in hand. This was my first collaboration with Katerina Papageorgiou, who was really very impressive as Lucy.

I tried to counterbalance and capture the opposed worlds of light and darkness by using distinct qualities of movement and dance vocabularies for each. I strove to construct choreographies with a neoclassical air for light, and to incorporate the Butoh, animal-like movements that I am familiar with for darkness. As a director, I can excuse myself certain things here, but as a choreographer I feel I was completely disoriented at this juncture.