Shirley MacLaine Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo 1977

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an all-male drag

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

troupe that parodies the conventions of romantic and

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), it ...

. The company's current artistic director is Tory Dobrin. 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 the male dancers performing ''

en travesti En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * E ...

'' in roles usually reserved for females, while wearing tutus and dancing ''

en pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...

''.

History

Prior to the founding of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, members of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatre Company formed a company called the Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company in 1972. This company included Larry Ree, Richard Goldberger, Lohr Wilson, Roy Blakey, Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor, and Anthony Bassae. They often performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. Productions at La MaMa included ''Sobechenskaya Dances'' in 1972, multiple productions titled ''Ekathrina Sobechenskaya Dances with the Troxadero Gloxinia Ballet Company'' in 1974, and ''Ekathrina Sobechenskaya Dances with the Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company'' in 1975. They continued to perform at La MaMa in 1976 and 1977, then returned in 1982, twice in 1987, and in 1990, with ''Madame Ekathrina Sobechenskaya's Original Trocadero Gloxinia Ballet''. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo was co-founded by Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor, and Anthony Bassae, all of the Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company, in 1974. They initially produced small, late-night shows in

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

spaces. The troupe's first show was on September 9, 1974 in a second-story loft on 14th Street in the

Meatpacking District The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District along ...

. After receiving a favorable review in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' by

Arlene Croce Arlene Louise Croce (born May 5, 1934) founded '' Ballet Review'' magazine in 1965. She was a dance critic for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1973 to 1998. Career Prior to Croce's long career as a dance writer, she also wrote film criticis ...

, the company 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. In 2017, the troupe were profiled in Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary film '' Rebels on Pointe''."Review: 'Rebels on Pointe,' and in Tutus"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 15, 2017.

Dancers

Notable former dancers

* Chase Johnsey * Brock Hayhoe

Repertoire

From the classical repertoire * '' Swan Lake'' Act II (choreography by

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...

, music by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

) * ''The Black Swan'' (''Black Swan Pas de Deux'' from ''Swan Lake'') (choreography after Marius Petipa, music by Tchaikovsky and revised by

Riccardo Drigo Riccardo Eugenio Drigo ( ru. Риккардо Эудженьо Дриго) (30 June 18461 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career a ...

) * ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' Act I (choreography after Petipa and

Alexander Gorsky Alexander Gorsky (August 6, 1871 – 1924), a Russian ballet choreographer and a contemporary of Marius Petipa, is known for restaging Petipa's classical ballets such as ''Swan Lake'', ''Don Quixote'', and ''The Nutcracker''. Gorsky “sought grea ...

, music by

Ludwig Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...

) * ''Don Quixote Grand Pas de Deux'' (choreography after Petipa and Gorsky, music by Minkus) * '' Le Corsaire Pas de Deux'' (choreography after Petipa, music by Drigo, Gerber, and

Boris Fitinhof-Schell Baron Boris Alexandrovich Fitinhoff-Schell (russian: Борис Александрович Фитингоф-Шель, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) (1829? in Morshansk – in St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian composer of Baltic German de ...

) * ''Grand Pas de Trois des Odalisques'' from '' Le Corsaire'' (choreography by Petipa, music by

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...

and

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; russian: Цезарь Пуни, Cezar' Puni; 31 May 1802 in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orches ...

) * ''Grand Pas de Deux'' from Act III of '' The Sleeping Beauty'' (choreography by Petipa, music by Tchaikovsky) * ''The Bluebird'' from Act III of ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (choreography by Petipa, music by Tchaikovsky) * '' Pas de Trois'' from ''The Fairy Doll'' (choreography after

Sergei Legat Sergei Gustavovich Legat (russian: Серге́й Густа́вович Лега́т; 27 September 1875 – 1 November 1905) was a Russian ballet dancer. Background Sergei Gustavovich Legat was born on 27 September 1875, in Moscow. The younge ...

and

Nikolai Legat Nikolai Gustavovich Legat (russian: Никола́й Густа́вович Лега́т) (30 December 1869, Moscow – 24 January 1937, London) was a Premier danseur, premier dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914, and also ...

, music by Drigo) * '' The Little Humpbacked Horse'' (''Grand Ballabile'' from the Under-water Scene) (choreography by Petipa and Gorsky after Arthur Saint-Léon, music by Pugni) * '' Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux'' (choreography by

Agrippina Vaganova Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova (russian: Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 26 June 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the t ...

, music by Pugni and adapted by Drigo) * ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

'' (choreography by Pamela Pribisco, music by Tchaikovsky) * '' Pas de Quatre'' (choreography by Anton Dolin after Doin Trutti Gasparinetti, music by Pugni and orchestrated by Leighton Lucas) * ''Raymonda's Wedding'' (Act III of '' Raymonda'' (choreography by

Konstantin Sergeyev Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian danseur, artistic director and choreographer for the Kirov Theatre. When th ...

after Petipa, music by Alexander Glazunov) * ''

Les Sylphides ''Les Sylphides'' () is a short, non-narrative '' ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk ...

'' (choreography by

Mikhail Fokine Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and a ...

, music by Frederic Chopin) * ''Flower Festival at Genzano Pas de Deux'' (choreography by August Bournonville, music by

Holger Simon Paulli Holger Simon Paulli (22 February 181023 December 1891) was a Danish conductor and composer. Paulli composed an opera, thirteen ballets, an overture, and pieces for violin and lieder. Biography Paulli was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a st ...

) * ''Grand Pas Classique'' from ''Le Dieu et la Bayadère'' (choreography by

Victor Gsovsky Victor Gsovsky (russian: Виктор Иванович Гзовский; 12 January 1902, Saint Petersburg - 14 March 1974, Hamburg) was a Russian ballet dancer, teacher, balletmaster and choreographer. Biography He studied with Mariinsky Theatre ...

, music by

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

) Other works * ''École de Ballet'' * ''Go for Barocco ''(parody of George Balanchine's choreography) * ''Cross Currents'' (for 3 dancers) * ''The Dance of Liberation'' * ''Gaîté Parisienne'' * ''The Dances of Isadora'' * ''Vivaldi Suite'' * ''La Trovatiara Pas de Cinq'' (from a lost Giueseppe Verdi

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

) * ''Yes Virginia, Another Piano Ballet'' (5 dancers in a rehearsal studio in the style of

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

, music by 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 ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Le Cygne'' from ''Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it abou ...

'' (choreography by

Michel Fokine Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant an ...

after staging by Trutti Gasparinetti) Debut at the Opera; Ribbon Dance; Russian Dance

References

Reviews

* *

External links

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
official site
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
at

IMG Artists IMG Artists LLC is a performing arts management corporation. History In 1979 Charles Hamlen and Edna Landau co-founded Hamlen/Landau, a New York-based musical artist management agency. In 1984 it was acquired by International Management Group and ...

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
on GLBTQ.com
Interview with Damien Diaz

Archive footage of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performing ''Le Lac des Cygnes'' (Swan Lake, Act II) in 2010 at Jacob's Pillow

Photographs of performance at Brooklyn Academy of Music (Dec. 9–16, 1976) and in rehearsal with Shirley MacLaine for TV special "Where do we Go from Here?"

Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo, Les Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Les Ballets Musical parodies American drag queens 1974 establishments in New York City Performing groups established in 1974 Dance companies in New York City Non-profit organizations based in New York City LGBT dance