For 'Dracula' composer, arts are in his blood

D.C. lawyer blends love of music and dance in providing score for Manassas Ballet Theatre

Like most lawyers, D.C. resident Kim Reynolds spends his days meeting clients, pushing papers and drafting contracts.

But at night, it's a different story.

Once the workday is complete, Reynolds tucks away his briefcase to dabble in his true love: performing arts.

Reynolds, 55, a composer, will bring his nighttime gig and passion to Manassas this weekend, performing the music he composed for the Manassas Ballet Theatre's production of "Dracula."

"I'm quite passionate about dance, and I think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Reynolds said. "I am thrilled to see professional dancers perform to my music."

Reynolds said he has always had a passion for music and dance and began combining the two about 15 years ago. His music is not considered New Age, he said, but it also doesn't leave people feeling as though they just listened to Bach. It has a "baroque feel," focusing on piano and organ, he said.

Reynolds, who also has a rock band, first teamed up with Manassas Ballet Theatre in 2000, composing part of the music for its production of "Dracula," said Amy Grant Wolfe, the ballet troupe's artistic director. A few years later when Wolfe repeated the show, she asked him to compose the entire score. It was a hit, she said, which is why he will return for this weekend's production.

"This is a very contemporary band and nothing like the orchestra you often see" at ballets, Wolfe said. "If you like going to hear a band at Nissan, you will enjoy 'Dracula.' Between the music and the contemporary movements, it is much easier for an audience member who isn't used to ballet to get into."

Wolfe said the two-hour, kid-friendly ballet is loosely based on the novel by Bram Stoker and contains original choreography. A narrator will accompany the 12 primary dancers, while Reynolds and two other band members will be in the orchestra pit playing the saxophone, bass, flute, piano, organ and guitar.

Reynolds said there was nothing in particular that inspired his "Dracula" score. He built it the way he builds all his scores: one step at a time and at all times of the day.

Often, Reynolds will break from work and use the piano in his office to compose a few musical bars. Or if an idea comes while he is on his feet, he takes out the recorder most lawyers use for dictation purposes and hums a song melody into it.

"Composing a song is like chiseling away at a sculpture," he said. "I keep chiseling and chiseling and . . . sometimes a diamond comes out of the rough."

Reynolds said he enjoys composing music for the pas de deux, which is a partner dance, and for action scenes. Although he is not ready to leave the pit and leap beside the ballerinas onstage, Reynolds said he, too, dances when he has the chance.

"I know all the ballet steps and how difficult they are, which is useful when composing the music," he said. "Ballet is also a really good way to stay in shape. And, every so often, I can crank out a really cool double pirouette."

This weekend's show will kick off the ballet's 2009-10 season. Other productions slated for the upcoming year include "The Nutcracker," "Giselle" and a gala including local arts groups when the Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University's Manassas campus opens this spring.

"I've been waiting 12 years for this facility," Wolfe said. "This is a state-of-the-art theater that will rival, if not surpass, the Kennedy Center. I never doubted it would happen, but I am extremely excited it is finally here."