¡anuary 18 . 2 M 2 » J i t — 1 39
TH EA TER
JOHN
Swishing and
prancing to
fame
Les B allets
T rockadero
r e tu r n s
to delight
Oregon
fan s
by
IT’S WHAT YOU’VE BEEN
WAITING FO RI
A n d y S im o n
*o this day in the United States,
a man who dares utter the
word ballet raises doubts about
his masculinity.
You can struggle against such a
cruel stereotype by getting angry
and sternly denouncing it.
Or you can wallow in it.
And if you are clever and
talented, you can get the
world to laugh at the
stereotype rather than at
the emasculated. T hat is
clearly the approach
taken by Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte
Carlo. Describe their
show as men in tutus and their artistic direc
tor will agree.
“That is exactly what it is, hut the men can
dance, and they’re very funny,” says Tory
Dobrin, who started out as a dancer- with the
company in 1980. “All-male comedy ballet” is
the phrase he uses to describe the Trocks, as
they are affectionately known.
O f course, not all the men are in tutus all
the time. They dance traditional men’s parts,
too— and in traditional costumes.
The company’s repertoire is vast and
encompasses all dance styles and traditions
hut is heavy on Russian ballet classics.
Think Tchaikovsky. Think Simn Lake.
The Trocks relish the spectacle of broad-
shouldered, hairy-chested guys m incing on
tiptoe across the stage, wearing frilly little
skirts, dancing the parts of swans, sylphs and
water sprites.
Classic ballet focuses on traditional rela
tionships and presents them in a context of a
formalized etiquette, Dobrin explains. “Put two
guys in such stereotyped relationships,” he says,
“and you shake them up, you open them up.”
He believes the Trockadero company has
helped straight society overcome its hang-ups
about seeing two men together.
But he quickly dances away from any
attempt to take the Trocks too seriously. “It’s a
good, fun, entertaining show,” he says, and
that’s reason enough to go see it.
“It’s not just a drag show," Dobrin adds.
“The humor is very mixed— sometimes subtle,
sometimes broad, sometimes slapstick. There’s
a lot of campiness, but there’s a lot of excellent
dancing, too.”
C
B AC K A T LAST!
lassical ballet, with its stylized manners and
fanciful story lines, is ripe for parody. The
Trocks achieve their comedy by exaggerat
ing the foibles and underlying incongruities of
serious dance.
Their goal is to offer an affectionate satire
rather than mock the art form. By doing so
they manage to delight and amuse both the
most knowledge
able members of
the audience and
those who have
never been to a
dance perform
ance before.
The group’s
gender-bending
appeals to both gay
| and straight audi
ences. "It is not
gay theater, by which 1
mean theater that
addresses gay issues,”
Dobrin points out. “But given that 95 percent of
the participants are gay, they can’t help but
bring a gay sensibility to what they do.”
On the other hand, gender-bending that
helps broaden society’s acceptance of difference
is a gay issue. In 1980, Dobrin notes, the com
pany’s stage crews were visibly hostile to the
dancers. “But it’s not a problem now,” he says.
es Ballets Trockadero began 28 years ago
when a group of dance enthusiasts in New
York City got together to present playful
parodies of classical ballet. Their first
performances were late-late shows in off-off-
Broadway lofts.
Within two years the group had hired a full
time ballet mistress and qualified for the
National Endowment for the Arts Touring Pro
gram. They were off and running and haven’t
stopped since.
The Trocks have toured the country and
the world many times over. Audiences on
every continent flock to their shows. They
have been on television and in movies and are
proud that in addition to their mainstay classic
works, they have commissioned new dance
performances specifically for them.
In 1999 the company celebrated it 25th
anniversary with an appearance at John F.
Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.
Their current season includes extended engage
ments in London and Melbourne, Australia.
Happily, Portland will welcome the Trocks
on Jan. 23. They will perform a typically varied
program, including Act II of Stwrn Lake, which
Dobrin describes as a signature piece. Also on
the program is Paquita, a good example of
French style ballet as performed in Russia in
the late 19th century, and a new piece for the
company, La Vivandiere. JH
L es B a llets T ro ckad ero
de
M o n te C a rlo
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