Even in the dance performance world, it seems like you have to have a Plan B, with the idea that if something can go wrong, it just might. That’s what happened with Neos Dance Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee, and its one-night-only performance of its story-length ballet “Count…The Legend of Dracula” that was performed on Halloween evening in downtown Akron.

Artistic director and choreographer Bobby Wesner had it all planned out — an evening long multimedia arts event culminating in the performance of the ballet. He obtained use of a vacant building — an old car dealership with a showroom and loads of ramps for moving cars off the former sales lot. He swept out the place, rigged up a serviceable stage for the performance, decorated the worn out interior imaginatively for the evening (with a stepladder balanced against a wall with spotlights going upward, what looked like a runway path from the Neos entrance table to filling out forms to be on the list, easels of oils and acrylic paintings, placards discussing the story of Dracula and the myths and facts surrounding his name, and a huge canvas on which guests could hurl paint à la Jackson Pollock and thereby make a collective painting over the course of the evening).

Neos Dance Theatre, event decorations.

Everything was set. Then the lights went out, not just in the building but in the urban area surrounding the building. It was a dark and stormy night, perfect for the dark tale of Dracula, but a huge problem for a dance group hosting a full house of ticket holders and needing lights (and a projector for the multimedia portion of the dance).

Weirdly, and nicely, those in attendance didn’t seem to mind a bit. Some didn’t even realize there was a problem. Everyone seemed to go with the flow, thinking the lights would probably come back on, but if not, they were having a good time anyway. Wine and soft drinks were flowing, snacks were being eaten, conversations were going on everywhere, and those attendees with smart phones with flashlight apps kept the place illuminated well enough for a Halloween evening dedicated to the tempestuous Dracula.

Wesner had his Plan B, even though he ended up not needing it. He drove his car up one of the service loading docks and aimed his lights toward the stage, ready to let that illumination and his automobile’s audio auxiliary handle lights and music. Dancers were told to get out of their toe shoes. And the performance was going to go on as planned.

No sooner had Wesner made the announcement than the lights came on. Within five minutes Plan A was pulled back out and on Neos went. That was good, for the audience got to see the fantastic lighting of Dennis Dugan, the finely tuned movie created to be shown as the dance proceeded (adding such touches as close-ups of faces that appeared in lockets that the characters were looking at on stage, as well as Dracula’s gloomy castle on the video version of a dark and stormy night).

The performance was exemplary, and the audience enthralled. Choreographer Wesner mined the nuances of the story for dramatic purposes, backing it up with various sorts of music — classical, industrial, and rock and roll — that worked magically together to create the emotional climate that Wesner was going for.

Neos Dance Theatre, “Count…The Legend of Dracula.”

As one audience member notes, a little bit of Akron dance history was created that evening. Indeed it was. Neos Dance Theatre was there with a sure and sparkling performance, and the audience got to see first-hand the old notion that the show must go on. It was fun, and will be talked about for some time to come.