Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an American all-male drag ballet corps which parodies the conventions and clichés of romantic and classical ballet. The company was co-founded by Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor and Antony Bassae in New York City in 1974, producing small, late-night shows, in off-off Broadway lofts. Their first show was on September 9, 1974, at a second story loft on 14th street, in the heart of the meat-packing district.[1] The current artistic director is Tory Dobrin.[2]
After receiving a favorable critical review in The New Yorker by Arlene Croce, it was discovered by a wider audience. The "Trocks" toured the world, with prolonged engagements in many major cities. In 2008 they performed at the Royal Variety Performance, in front of Prince Charles.[3]
The dancers portray both male and female roles in a humorous style that combines parodies of ballet, posing and physical comedy with "straighter" pieces intended to show off the performers' technical skills. Much of the humor is in seeing male dancers en travesti performing roles usually reserved to females, wearing tutus and dancing en pointe.
Dancers
| Name | Birthplace | Joined Trockadero | Female role | Male role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROBERT CARTER | Charleston, SC | November 1995 | Olga Supphozova | Yuri Smirnov |
| PAOLO CERVELLERA | Putignano (Bari), Italy | November 2012 | Moussia Shebarkarova | Vyacheslav Legupski |
| BOYSIE DIKOBE | Brits, South Africa | February 2011 | Sonia Leftova | Andrei Leftov |
| JACK FURLONG, JR. | Boston, MA | September 2014 | Guzella Verbitskaya | Mikhail Mudkin |
| PAUL GHISELIN | Chapel Hill, NC | May 1995 | Ida Nevasayneva | Velour Pilleaux |
| GIOVANNI GOFFREDO | Noci, Italy | October 2013 | Varvara Bratchikova | Sergey Legupski |
| DUANE GOSA | Chicago ILL | September 2013 | Helen Highwaters | Vladimir Legupski |
| CARLOS HOPUY | Havana, Cuba | February 2012 | Alla Snizova | Innokenti Smoktumuchsky |
| CHASE JOHNSEY | Winter Haven, FL | April 2004 | Yakatarina Verbosovich | Roland Deaulin |
| LASZLO MAJOR | Mosonmagyaròvàr, Hungary | September 2014 | Tatiana Youbetyoubootskaya | Araf Legupski |
| PHILIP MARTIN-NIELSON | Middletown, NY | September 2012 | Nadia Doumiafeyva | Kravlji Snepek |
| RAFFAELE MORRA | Fossano, Italy | May, 2001 | Lariska Dumbchenko | Pepe Dufka |
| CHRISTOPHER OUELLETTE | San Francisco, CA | May 2014 | Colette Adae | Marat Legupski |
| MATTHEW POPPE | Phoenix, AZ | June 2014 | Doris Vidanya | Ilya Bobovnikov |
| ALBERTO PRETTO | Vicenza, Italy | February 2011 | Nina Immobilashvili | Stanislas Kokitch |
| CARLOS RENEDO | Barcelona, Spain | February 2012 | Maria Paranova | Boris Nowitsky |
| JOSHUA THAKE | Providence, RI | November 2011 | Eugenia Repelskii | Jacques d’Aniels |
| MATTHEW VAN | Sydney, Australia | May 2014 | Minnie van Driver | William Vanilla |
Repertoire
From the Classical Repertory
- Swan Lake Act II (chor. -Lev Ivanov; music -Tchaikovsky)
- The Black Swan (the Black Swan Pas de Deux from Swan Lake) (chor. -After Petipa; music -Tchaikovsky, revised by Drigo)
- Don Quixote Act I (chor. -After Petipa and Gorsky; music Minkus)
- Don Quixote Grand Pas de Deux (chor. -After Petipa and Gorsky; music -Minkus)
- Le Corsaire Pas de Deux (chor. -After Petipa; music -Drigo, Gerber; and Fitinhof-Schell)
- Grand Pas de Trois des Odalisques from Le Corsaire (chor. -Petipa; music Adam and Pugni)
- Grand Pas de Deux from Act III of The Sleeping Beauty (chor. -Petipa; music -Tchaikovsky)
- The Bluebird from Act III of The Sleeping Beauty (chor. -Petipa; music -Tchaikovsky)
- Pas de Trois from The Fairy Doll (chor. After Sergei Legat and Nikolai Legat, music -Drigo)
- The Little Humpbacked Horse (Grand Ballabile from the Under-water scene) (chor. Petipa and Gorsky after Saint-Léon; music -Pugni)
- Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux (chor. Vaganova; music -Pugni adapted by Drigo)
- The Nutcracker (chor. -Pamela Pribisco; music -Tchaikovsky)
- Pas de Quatre (chor. Dolin after Doin Trutti Gasparinetti; music-Pugni orch. Leighton Lucas)
- Raymonda's Wedding (Act III of Raymonda (chor. Sergeyev after Petipa; music -Glazunov)
- Les Sylphides (chor. Fokine; music -Chopin)
- Flower Festival at Genzano Pas de Deux (chor. Bournonville; music -Paulli)
- Grand Pas Classique from Le Dieu et la Bayadère (chor. Gsovsky; music -Auber)
Other works
- École de Ballet
- Go for Barocco (satire on Balanchine's choreography)
- Cross Currents (piece for three dancers)
- The Dance of Liberation
- Gaîté Parisienne
- The Dances of Isadora
- Vivaldi Suite
- La Trovatiara Pas de Cinq (from a lost Verdi opera)
- Yes Virginia, Another Piano Ballet (5 dancers in a rehearsal studio, Jerome Robbins style, music - Frédéric Chopin)
- Stars & Stripes Forever
- Dances of Ruth St. Denis
- Spring Waters
- Debut at the Opera
- Gambol
- I Wanted to Dance With You
- Lamentation of Jane Eyre
- Patterns in Space
Solo Works
- The Dying Swan (Fokine's choreography after Fokine staged by Trutti Gasparinetti); Debut at the Opera; Ribbon Dance; Russian Dance.
References
- ^ Eugene MacDougal. "From the Director". Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "About Us". Trockadero.org. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ Sanjoy Roy (17 February 2009). "Step by Step guide to Dance: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
Reviews
- Gus Solomons, Jr. (March 1996). "Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, December 12–17". Dance Magazine.
- Elizabeth Zimmer (August 20, 2002). "Trocks Transcendent: Attitude With Altitude and Horsepower to Spare". Village Voice.
External links
- Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, official site
- Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at IMG Artists
- Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo on glbtq.com
- Interview with Damien Diaz
- Archive film of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performing Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake, Act II)in 2010 at Jacob's Pillow
- [1], photographs of their performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Dec.9-16, 1976 and in rehearsal with Shirley MacLaine for her TV special with them, "Where do we Go from Here?"