Performing Arts

DWT Presents Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Photo by Sascha Vaughn

By Natasha Anderson

The all-male company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo brings its unique and playful dance style to Diana Wortham Theatre (DWT) for the first time on Tuesday, February 13, and Wednesday, February 14, at 8 p.m. The troupe, affectionately referred to as The Trocks, has achieved international acclaim for its combination of polished parody and technical expertise.

“DWT is proud to offer world-class dance programming that defies conventional barriers and takes patrons to new heights,” says the theatre’s managing director Rae Geoffrey. “Our audiences rarely have the opportunity to experience a pure ballet company on the Mainstage Series, let alone an all-male company that dances en pointe!”

The evening highlights a range of ballet styles, including Russian, French, neoclassical and modern. First, The Trocks will perform their signature work, Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake, Act II), followed by a pas de deux or modern work to be announced, then Go for Barocco, with the music of J.S. Bach. Paquita, with music by Ludwig Minkus, brings the program to a close.

“In addition to our satire, all dancers in the company are classically trained and perform at a very high skill level,” says The Trocks’ artistic director Tory Dobrin. “So, on top of a fun show you also get a great ballet performance.”

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo was founded in 1974 by a group of dance enthusiasts for the purpose of presenting a lively, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and en travesti (disguised as the opposite sex). The company first performed in late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts and quickly garnered a major critical essay in The New Yorker, as well as reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice that established it as an artistic and popular success. By mid-1975, publications, including Variety, Oui, The London Daily Telegraph and Vogue, made the company nationally and internationally known.

Since then, The Trocks have appeared in more than 34 countries and more than 600 cities worldwide, including seasons at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Chatalet Theater in Paris. They have made many television appearances and received numerous awards. Rebels on Pointe, a documentary film celebrating the legendary troupe, was released in 2017.

Diana Wortham Theatre is located at 18 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Tickets are $45, $40 for students and $20 for children 12 and under. Student rush day-ofshow tickets are $10. For more information, visit dwtheatre.com. Tickets can be purchased at dwtheatre.com or by calling 828.257.4530.

 

DWT Presents Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Photos by Sascha Vaughn

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