Theatre Preview: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Legendary all-male ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo arrive in Blackpool this June, bringing camp theatricality, classical brilliance and joyful queer subversion to the Grand Theatre stage.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the famous all-male comedy ballet company, affectionately known as the Trocks, will make their Blackpool debut at The Grand Theatre on Friday 12 June.

The company is known for their sassy classical ballet spoofs, with flawless technique and comic timing. The Trocks’ unique blend of satire, subversion and slapstick is rooted in their love for, and deep knowledge of, Classical and Romantic ballet on which their repertoire is based.

In Blackpool, they will be performing two of their signature works. Swan Lake is probably the best-known ballet in the world. The Trocks’ version is a mix of variations and ensembles which sweeps its audience into the magic world of the swans. The company’s hilarious (and touching) version of The Dying Swan, has been become almost as beloved as the original. Also on the bill are Go For Barocco – the stylistic heir to Balanchine’s Middle-Blue-Verging-On-Black-and-White Period – and Walpurgisnacht, the Trocks’ version of the lavish Bolshoi ballet where they make the most of the dramatic, supernatural and mythological themes to joyful effect.

The 14 dancers, who hail from Spain, Japan, Cuba, Italy and the US, will take on a kaleidoscope of roles performed by their male danseur and female ballerina alter egos. Among the on-stage superstars are Olga Supphozova and Yuri Smirnov (Robert Carter); Holly Dey-Abroad and Bruno Backpfeifengesicht (Felix Molinero del Paso); Tatiana Youbetyabootskaya and Araf Legupski (Andrea Fabbri); and Minnie Van Driver and William Vanilla.

Founded in 1974 in the wake of the Stonewall Riots, The Trocks started life as a late-night act on the makeshift New York stage of an early LGBTQ+ organisation. They have always been trailblazers and inclusivity, gender fluidity and body positivity, once subversive now part of the mainstream, are a given for them. In the wake of Blackpool’s Pride celebrations, this dance company provides a highbrow way to continue to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, for those making a longer holiday for it.

Tory Dobrin, who joined Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo as a dancer in 1980 and became the company’s artistic director in 1992, says:

“Our Dance Consortium tours to the UK are one of the highlights of our calendar. The audiences are super boisterous and super fun – I think that is the tradition of the music hall and pantomime. Surprisingly, this is our first time in Blackpool. We’re really looking forward to bringing some good cheer to audiences there and getting to know the town – it feels like a Trocks kind of a place!”

For tickets, visit Blackpool Grand Theatre online at www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call 01253 290 190. For Group bookings, call 01253 74 32 32.