Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, otherwise known as The Trocks, are back at Sadler’s Wells as part of their National tour of a mixed bill until 6 May. Post-show I think I might be losing my sense of humour…but thankfully most of the Sadler’s Wells audience seemed happy!
The Trocks have been doing their thing since 1974. And what's that? Well according to their website it's men performing “faithful renditions of the manners and conceits” of dance styles - ballet - en travesti. En travesti meaning ‘in disguise’ in French, the men are in fact dressed as women. The technical term is male-comedy ballet, but some people might just say drag.
I don't have a long-standing relationship with The Trocks, but I have seen other companies/dancers that do the same thing. When done well it can be astonishing - seeing a man do wonders with female technique and the feminine mystique. Ballet is a woman's world in many ways…and some men want a bigger slice of it than others!
However, when it misses the mark it can be cringe-o-clock and I did find myself cringing quite a lot at the performance. Comedy isn't easy, likewise pointework, and at times, neither were working well. I definitely saw some crimes against aesthetics and classical technique, and without doubt, some of the worst wigs I've ever seen. Think dead animal on head vibes.
Photo Credit: Giovanni Daniotti
The evening opened with Swan Lake Act 2, and things were largely predictable. The swans used duck mannerisms and mishaps to garner laughs, and most of the audience went along with the experience. The famous Cygnets dance was performed at the speed of light, which for me became the problem rather than the source of comedy. The dancers literally couldn't keep up, let alone execute the steps well, and I'm afraid I didn't find this approach genuinely funny.
After interval number one we had Le Corsaire pas de deux. Maya Thickenthighya (Peter Gwiazda) definitely raised the standard of dancing but isn't a natural stage presence or comedienne, and Mikhail Mudkin (Raydel Caceres) couldn't find the fine line. His dancing was almost good enough to be taken seriously, but his OTT approach wasn't. So what does one do? How should this be observed and considered? Awkwardly I'd say.
Metal Garden followed, and this is The Trocks' mockery of contemporary dance. Abstract and random, it hoped to poke fun at the genre and its many foibles. Personally it didn't work as I found the choreography actually too random to be ironic, and I was still struggling with the wig situation.
Closing the second section was the Dying Swan. This is a Trocks staple, endless feathers, but again I was confused rather than amused. Olga Supphozova (Robert Carter) is definitely a presence, impressive maquillage, but she didn't always use the movement to its fullest comedic value. Matters often felt physically jarred and comedically forced.
Closing the night was Paquita and it acted as the saving grace. This is what I'd been looking for; larger than life, camp, technical prowess with comedic moments thrown in. Varvara Laptopova (Takaomi Yoshino) in the Ballerina role was a marvel. Again, not a natural comedienne, but boy can she dance. When she threw in a diagonal of double tours or took off for a ginormous double saut de basque I was gobsmacked. And then she whipped off some of the best fouetté I've ever seen - such a natural, consistent turn. Mikhail Mudkin (Raydel Caceres) as the Cavalier was less impressive, but the ladies of the corps de ballet and solos absolutely brought the Paquita panache. Often more so than I saw at a recent performance by Dutch National Ballet.
Overall it was a weird night. Largely speaking I didn't find the standard of dance high enough to then become a parody and this is dangerous territory. Things need to be clear; are we brilliant and in control of the comedy, or is the comedy happening to us? Currently it's predominantly the latter for me.
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo perform at Sadler’s Wells until 6 May
Main Image credit: Vito Lorusso
Reader Reviews
Videos