Reviewer: Sue Proudlove
Artistic Director: Tory Dobrin
Classical ballet is an art form that everyone recognises, whether or not they’ve ever seen it performed live. It’s all about grace, and athleticism, and artistry…and amazing costumes (especially the tutus). The ballerina long predates the Disney princess as an icon of femininity, and we all know snippets of the big tunes: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker.
What Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (aka The Trocks) have done so brilliantly since the 1970s is subvert these familiar tropes while treating classical ballet’s venerable legacy with affection and respect. The company was formed in New York, initially as a late-night drag/ballet entertainment but quickly gaining critical recognition for the quality of its dancing as well as its comedy. It has always been an all-male company, with each dancer playing both male and female personas. What audiences adore (and the Festival Theatre crowd tonight was no exception) is the way that the performers display such impressive technique and artistry while also sending it all up in the most joyful manner. The exaggerated make-up means that every raised eyebrow or warning glare is easily visible, and whole subplots of rivalry, irritation and sabotage begin to emerge.
We began with Swan Lake Act II – the ultimate classical ballet, perhaps. But when there are chest hairs peeking out above the tutus, and frog-chorus sound effects over the lake, we know we’re in for an irreverent take. As with all The Trocks’ work, there is some technically excellent dancing to enjoy, but there is so much else going on besides…there’s the swan who keeps getting left behind, and the male soloist whose music doesn’t materialise. And the Dance of the Little Swans has long been ruthlessly parodied (Morecambe & Wise, French & Saunders) so we’re primed to be amused as soon as the music starts.
The programme tonight continued with the Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, danced with brilliance and panache by ‘Varvara Laptopova’ (Takaomi Yoshino) and ‘Jacques d’Aniels’ (Antonio Lopez) – the character names are a delight – and Go for Barocco, a send-up of Balanchine’s 20th century choreography. To a Bach score, the dancers’ angular movements are subverted by sudden outbreaks of what look more like hoe-down moves, race-walking or children’s playground games. Next, The Dying Swan (‘Olga Supphozova’ / Robert Carter) appears to have a nasty stomach upset of some sort – will she make it safely through the number?
The programme concluded with Valpurgeyeva Noch / Walpurgisnacht, a Bolshoi-style melee of nymphs and fauns – again, the joy is in the balance between the elegant pas de deux going on centre-stage, and the anarchy that breaks out elsewhere in jazz hands and people doing ‘the floss’. And even the elegant soloists are having to contend with the fact that the ‘ballerina’ is the tallest person on stage, and she loves to be lifted.
See The Trocks and be astounded at their artistry and their comic timing. And if you can’t get to see them, go to their website and read the characters’ biographies. You’ll thank me for it.
Runs until 17 June 2026 | Image: Christopher Duggan
