Articles and ReviewsLes Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carloby Jacqui Young1/11/07 Last week I had the pleasure of seeing Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo live, on stage at the Joyce Theater here in New York City. Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo is a ballet company based in New York City and it is comprised of all male dancers “en pointe”. Yes you read that last line correctly, all the dancers in the company are male, not female, and they dance in pointe shoes. This company is a must see for everyone - especially if you know a dancer, are a parent or teacher of a dancer or if you are a dancer. This show is a true theatrical performance from beginning to end. This company will have you in tears because of how hard you will be laughing and they will shock you with their technique and stage antics. These “ballerinas” are masters at their craft. Prior to the curtain raising the announcer introduces the show and tells the audience of the changes to the program in a Russian accent. All the names of the ballerinas are made-up to give the show more of an edge. One of the names is Tatiana YouBetYaBootsKaya and her claim to ballet fame is being the Great Terror of the international ballet world. After the announcement is over the curtain rises on the first ballet Les Sylphides. The men/ballerinas are dressed in long flowing tutus and fluttering around the stage like humming birds. Then the fun begins. One ballerina bumps into another ballerina and they stare at each other with idle disgust and the audience roars with laughter. Then the corps de ballet is posed around the stage and one of them falls out of her pose onto the floor and quickly gets back up before the principle dancer sees her. Next the principle dancer is dancing around the stage oblivious to the corps and keeps hitting this one dancer over and over and over again. By this point in the program, the audience is in hysterics and it is still only the first ballet, with three more to go! At times you forget you are watching a corps of male dancers because they can be as graceful as female ballet dancers. That is, until they do a beautiful grande jeté and run off stage and into the trashcan and the sound echoes onto the stage and once again the audience erupts with laughter. Words really cannot explain or express what happens on the stage. It is pure magic and at times pure comedy. Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo really is an example of what can be accomplished when you put your mind, heart and soul into something. This company also proves that the impossible for some becomes the possible for others. I feel that dads, brothers and husbands will enjoy this company as much as their dancing family members. This company gets a rating of 5 on my list of must-sees.
For more info on Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo visit their website at
www.trocadero.org.
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