Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Overture Center-Overture Hall 201 State St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Zoran Jelenic
Affectionately nicknamed the “Trocks,” this dance company’s tagline is “the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company,” and they’ve been garnering rave reviews since forming in 1974. Under the stunning costumes, sparkly makeup and shiny pointe shoes, these are male ballet dancers with top-notch training and impeccable technique. So, while the campy drag element entertains, and the parody is witty and wise, the pure dancing will always amaze.
$50-$25.
press release: Overture Center welcomes Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, also known as The TROCKS, to Overture Hall for one night only on Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m. The program will include Le Lac Des Cygnes, Pas de Six from Esmeralda and Don Quixote.
Tickets start at $25 and are available in person at the Overture Center Ticket Office (201 State Street), online at overture.org or by phone at 608.258.4141.
The TROCKS were founded in 1974 on the heels of New York's Stonewall riots 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 and performed in the late-late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts. The Company of professional male dancers performing the full range of the ballet and modern dance repertoire, including classical and original works in faithful renditions of the manners and conceits of those dance styles has appeared in over 34 countries and over 600 cities worldwide since its founding in 1974.
The comedy is achieved by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. The fact that men dance all the parts--heavy bodies delicately balancing on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses, angst-ridden Victorian ladies--enhances (rather than mocks) the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing the most knowledgeable, as well as novices, in the audiences.
Rebels on Pointe, the first-ever cinéma vérité documentary film celebrating Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, was released in early February 2017. The film, which juxtaposes exclusive, behind-the-scenes access and intimate, character-driven stories of its dancers, is highlighted by amazing performances shot around the world. Rebels on Pointe ultimately celebrates our shared humanity through universal themes of identity, dreams, family, love, loss, determination and resilience... proving that a ballerina is not merely a woman dancing, but an act of revolution in a tutu.
For an additional $15, attendees can arrive early to expand upon their experience before the show (6 p.m. on Friday, February 24) through Overture’s Get Social program. A Get Social ticket includes appetizers, a themed signature cocktail, activities such as a virtual backstage tour with The TROCKS, mingling with special guests and more. Overture’s Get Social is presented by Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. More information is available at overture.org/getsocial. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is part of Overture Center’s Dance Series.