Pirouettes & Punchlines: The Trocks Turn Ballet on Its Head

“One of the most unusually gifted dance companies in existence” (The Stage), Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo — affectionately known as the Trocks — has been trailblazing the bold reinvention of ballet for more than 50 years. In 1974, the Trocks emerged from New York City’s vibrant queer political and artistic scenes, shortly after the Stonewall Uprising. This groundbreaking all-male troupe of professional dancers has since built an award-winning legacy by playfully satirizing ballet conventions, turning a “faux pas” into a “pas de deux.” Through highly technical ballet, the Trocks exaggerate the “foibles, accidents and underlying incongruities of serious dance” to make the art form more approachable and accessible. This delicious blend of technical skill and campy drag humor has delighted audiences of all ages worldwide in over 43 countries and 660 cities.

Last appearing on our stage in 2000, the Trocks make their long-awaited return on Jan. 29 for their eighth performance at Northrop. Get ready for the show by viewing a Performance Preview With Artistic Director Tory Dobrin, on-demand beginning Jan. 20.

The Trocks’ remarkable history is outlined in “Ballerina Boys,” a PBS documentary co-produced and co-directed by Chana Gazit — a three-time Emmy Award winner — and Martie Barylick, an adjunct faculty member at NYU’s Graduate Program in Dance Education. While encapsulating the light, humorous tone that the Trocks bring to their work, the documentary also digs deeper into gender, social justice and stereotypes of traditional ballerinas. This “story of little boys who wanted to grow up to be ballerinas. And did,” reflects a hard-fought journey toward progress, which all began by men who did not wait for society’s permission but instead simply declared themselves to be ballerinas and a ballet company (PBS).

With their mission focused on empowering LGBTQIA+ individuals, the Trocks offer low-to-no cost workshops on dance, comedy and makeup for people of all ages and experience levels. Every participant gets to create their own “Trock persona,” just as the company dancers each have two stage names — male and female (a ballerina and danseur name) (Gramilano).

On Jan. 28, Raffaele Morra, associate artistic director of the Trocks will lead a free “Dying Swan” Workshop (at capacity, join the waitlist), presented in partnership between Northrop and Ballet Co.Laboratory, at Ballet Co.Lab in St. Paul. Dancers and non-dancers of all ages will learn the famous “Dying Swan” with a comedic touch and then create their own interpretation of the terminal fowl.

Such exquisite artistry and slapstick antics are enhanced by the Trocks’ fabulous array of costumes, jewelry, wigs and makeup. On tour, the Trocks tow 60 costumes with them, all crafted in New York or Boston and designed to be shared among dancers of the same size (Dance Consortium), rather than tailored to one performer. Costumes are then adjusted on the spot to ensure a perfect fit, sometimes requiring dancers to literally be stitched into the costumes. Along with their clothes, the Trocks also haul 80 pairs of earrings and over 100 pairs of false eyelashes, helping the dancers transform into their alter egos within 60-90 minutes (The Kennedy Center). All this effort culminates in a glamorous feast for the eyes. As the Maryland Theatre Guide puts it, “Even if the dancing didn’t leave you breathless, the sheer spectacle of their attire certainly would.”

The Trocks are redefining ballet today. Watching troupe members “delicately [balance] as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses and angst-ridden Victorian ladies” en pointe — a technique introduced in 1823 as part of the mystique of the prima ballerina (Pointe Magazine) — is both a physical and cultural feat. Pointe work demands immense strength and balance, and it can be especially challenging for dancers with different physical proportions. While some dancers have a lower center of gravity centered in the hips, performers like the Trocks tend to carry more in their shoulders. This distribution shift can make it harder to balance three times the pressure of their total mass on only a few toes (Gramilano). Through performances as enchanting as they are amusing, the Trocks prove that grace, strength and beauty are not determined by biology, and that ballet is truly for every body.