Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

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Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech

An inspired blend of dance and impeccable humor, the world-class parody ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo makes its Southwest Virginia debut. Men dancing en pointe — heavy bodies delicately balancing on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, and romantic princesses — celebrate rather than mock the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing regardless of your dance knowledge.

About the Trocks

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 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, and the Daily Telegraph, as well as a Richard Avedon photo essay in Vogue, made the company nationally and internationally known. 

Since those beginnings, the Trocks have established themselves as a major dance phenomenon. The company has participated in dance festivals throughout the world and made appearances on television programs as varied as a Shirley MacLaine special, The Dick Cavett Show, What’s My Line?, Real People, On-Stage America, visiting with Kermit and Miss Piggy on Muppet Babies, and a BBC Omnibus special on the world of ballet, hosted by Jennifer Saunders. 

The Trocks’ numerous tours have been both popular and critical successes — the company’s annual schedules have included six tours to Australia and New Zealand, 25 to Japan (where annual visits have created a nationwide cult following and a fan club), 10 to South America, three to South Africa, and 55 tours of Europe. In the United States, the company has become a regular part of the college and university circuit, in addition to frequent presentations in all of the 50 states. The company has appeared in over 30 countries and over 500 cities worldwide since its founding in 1974. 

The original concept of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has not changed. It is a 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. The comedy is achieved by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. 

This performance is supported in part by gifts from Dr. Mark and Connie Froggatt, Dr. Rosemary Blieszner and Dr. Stephen P. Gerus, and Ms. Mary Ann Walker and Dr. Kenneth J. Walker.

This is the first performance by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at the Moss Arts Center.