Biography
Founded in 1974 by a group of ballet enthusiasts for the purpose of presenting a playful, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and en travesti, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo first performed in the late-late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts. The Trocks, as the dancers are affectionately known, quickly garnered a major critical essay by Arlene Croce in The New Yorker which, combined with reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice, established the company as an artistic and popular success.
By mid-1975, the Trocks’ inspired blend of a loving knowledge of dance, impeccable comic approach, and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces, was being noted beyond New York. Articles and notices in publications such as Variety, Oui, The LondonDaily Telegraph, as well as a Richard Avedon photo essay in Vogue, made the company nationally and internationally known.The 1975-76 season was a year of growth and full professionalization. The company added management, qualified for the National Endowment for the Arts Touring Program, hired a full-time teacher and ballet mistress to oversee daily classes and rehearsals, and made its first extended tours of the United States and Canada. Packing, unpacking, and repacking tutus and drops, stocking giant-sized toe shoes by the case, and running for planes and chartered buses all became routine parts of life.
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Reviews
“All of the “ballerinas” dance en pointe — but the genius touch of the Trocks is that while the ballet’s stories and customs are, lovingly, played for laughs, the technique isn’t… And though I’ve seen this “Swan Lake” many times, the variation for four hand-holding swans — three of whom are intently addressing the task at hand, one of whom has enough ham for several sandwiches — remains a comic masterpiece.”
“In the first minute of the show Friday, March 3, titters turned to guffaws. The waves of applause soon followed, and they didn’t end till the encore two hours later. In the dance world, only Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo inspires this kind of reaction…”
“Anytime one sees the Trocs, one wonders how they do all that they do. That core strength, the simulation of female roles with male bodies, effectively affected lines, potential tendon-snapping poses and pointe-work — small wonder that this all-male ensemble is world famous for doing just about anything any other male — and female — dancer can do.”
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“The Trocks are a guaranteed hoot for people who know nothing of ballet and an absolute must for those who think they know the originals.”
“They fill the stage with their voluminous movement while sporting thick lashes, tutus, and god-given bushels of manly armpit hair. But what makes the Trocks stand out from other ballet and contemporary ballet companies…is that they don’t strive for the celestial kind of beauty, instead, they bring humanness to ballet.”
“Freed of any traditional troupe hierarchy, all dancers had moments to shine and show off their diverse characters, while the jokes were timed to precision, the audience knew exactly where to focus, and there was no diva-like scene stealing.”
“Throughout this lovely show, the performance is a perfectly balanced combination of genuinely accomplished dancing and wonderfully timed comic cock-ups. From the solo dancer who moults feathers across the stage to the diminutive performer trying desperately to pick up his giant partner, the extraordinary skill of the Trocks proves that to undo ballet, one must first be able to do ballet.”
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Contact
Territory: North America
Matthew Bledsoe - General Manager
mbledsoe@imgartists.com
+1 212 994 3565