Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an all-male drag ballet troupe that parodies the conventions of romantic and classical ballet. The company's current artistic director is Tory Dobrin.[1]

The troupe performs with Shirley MacLaine (center) on her 1977 television special "Where Do We Go From Here?"

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 in roles usually reserved for females, while wearing tutus and dancing en pointe.

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,[2] 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[3][4] and 1977,[5] then returned in 1982,[6] twice in 1987,[7][8] and in 1990, with Madame Ekathrina Sobechenskaya's Original Trocadero Gloxinia Ballet.[9]

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 spaces. The troupe's first show was on September 9, 1974 in a second-story loft on 14th Street in the Meatpacking District.[10] After receiving a favorable review in The New Yorker by Arlene Croce, 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.[11] In 2017, the troupe were profiled in Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary film Rebels on Pointe.[12]

Dancers

Name Birthplace Joined the company Female role Male role
Robert Carter Charleston, SC November 1995 Olga Supphozova Yuri Smirnov
Raffaele Morra Fossano, Italy May 2001 Lariska Dumbchenko Pepe Dufka
Giovanni Ravelo Bucaramanga, Colombia October 2008 Irina Kolesterolikova Boris Mudko
Long Zou Li Ling, China May 2009; rejoined January 2016 Nina Enimenimynimova Ketevan Iosifidi
Alberto Pretto Vicenza, Italy February 2011 Nina Immobilashvili Stanislas Kokitch
Boysie Dikobe Brits, South Africa February 2011 Sonia Leftova Andrei Leftov
Joshua Thake Providence, RI November 2011 Eugenia Repelskii Jacques d’Aniels
Carlos Hopuy Havana, Cuba February 2012 Alla Snizova Innokenti Smoktumuchsky
Philip Martin-Nielson Middletown, NY September 2012 Nadia Doumiafeyva Kravlji Snepek
Duane Gosa Chicago, IL September 2013 Helen Highwaters Vladimir Legupski
Jack Furlong, Jr. Boston, MA September 2014 Guzella Verbitskaya Mikhail Mudkin
Christopher Ouellette San Francisco, CA May 2014 Colette Adae Marat Legupski
Kevin Garcia Gran Canaria, Spain August 2017 Elvira Khababghallina Sergey Legupski
Roberto Vega Manati, Puerto Rico August 2017 Ludmila Beaulemova Mikhail Mypansarov
Takaomi Yoshino Japan August 2018 Varvara Laptopova Boris Dumbkopf
Haojun Xie China August 2018 Maya Thickenthighya Nicholas Khachafallenjar
Trent Montgomery McGehee, AR August 2021 Ludmila Beaulemova Jens Witzelsucht
Felix Molinero del Paso Granada, Spain October 2021 Holly Dey-Abroad Bruno Backpfeifengesicht
Jake Speakman Philadelphia, PA November 2021 Colette Adae Timur Legupski
Shohei Iwahama Komae-shi, Tokyo, Japan March 2022 Anya Marx Chip Pididouda
Salvador Sasot Sellart Lleida, Spain August 2022 Grunya Protazova Marat Legupski
Sergio Nájera CDMX, Mexico February 2023 Bertha Vinayshinsky Irving Vershchemelt
Gabriel Foley Overland Park, KS July 2023 Resi Oachkatzlschwoaf Ilya Bobovnikov
Raydel Caceres Pinar del Río, Cuba August 2023 Blagovesta Zlotmachinskaya Mikhail Mudkin

Notable former dancers

Repertoire

From the classical repertoire

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)
  • Yes Virginia, Another Piano Ballet (5 dancers in a rehearsal studio in the style of Jerome Robbins, 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

References
  1. "About Us". Trockadero.org. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  2. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Sobechenskaya Dances (1972)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  3. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya + Tamara Karpova with the Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Co. (1976a)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  4. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya + Tamara Karpova with the Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Co. (1976b)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  5. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya + Tamara Karpova with the Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Co. (1977)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  6. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya and the Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company (1982)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  7. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya and Her Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company (1987a)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  8. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Ekathrina Sobechanskaya and Her Original Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Company (1987b)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  9. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Madame Ekathrina Sobechanskaya's Original Trocadero Gloxinia Ballet (1990)". Accessed August 7, 2018.
  10. Eugene MacDougal. "From the Director". Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  11. Sanjoy Roy (February 17, 2009). "Step by Step guide to Dance: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  12. "Review: 'Rebels on Pointe,' and in Tutus". The New York Times, November 15, 2017.

Reviews
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.