All-male comic drag ballet comes to Aspen

Typically, audiences don’t attend a ballet for laughs, but Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, aka Trocks, shakes up that notion. It combines serious repertoire with the comedy of men in drag emulating renowned dancers from the early 20th century. For its second presentation of the season, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet brings this all-male comic drag ballet troupe to Aspen District Theater on Thursday.

Trocks originated 50 years ago by New York City-based ballet enthusiasts to deliver a playful view of classical ballet in parody form. Men performed all of the roles, including dancing en pointe in women’s traditional roles.

“The performances were infused with a subversive edge as the country was still a long way from bringing drag performance to a mainstream audience,” according to the company’s history.

Yet publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, and the Village Voice gave them rave reviews, and within a year or so the company’s combination of athleticism and comedy attracted interest throughout the nation and garnered support from the National Endowment for the Arts Touring Program. Trocks began packing up their tutus and huge toe shoes and toured the United States and Canada. Since then, the company has performed in more than 667 cities and 43 countries, earned prestigious awards, and appeared in various television shows, from “Muppet Babies” to the “Dick Cavett Show,” “What’s My Line?” and “On-Stage America.”

“It’s highly unusual to see male ballerinas in drag, dancing across the stage in size 11 shoes,” said dancer Salvador Sasot Sellart. “It’s also not easy. Your body and your balance change because you use different muscles. It feels different when you’re dancing a female piece, but it’s also a challenge. It requires a lot of physical and mental effort so that all the technical movements the dancer executes seem effortless.”

The men, trained in the serious art of classical ballet, have also performed in other ballet companies. Within Trocks, they present traditional pieces of repertoire such as the second act of “Swan Lake” or “Les Sylphides” in drag.

“There is a lot of variety, and we bring different repertoire, so it’s not like watching a full-length ballet,” Sellart said. “On this tour, you’ll get the famous second act of ‘Swan Lake,’ a masterpiece of the company you can’t miss. Then there’s ‘Go for Barroco’ by Peter Anastos inspired by Balanchine, the famous solo ‘Dying Swan,’ and, finally, a Soviet-inspired ballet called ‘Walpurguisnacht.'”

And, as if watching graceful and accomplished dancers dressed in tutus en pointe isn’t already entertaining enough, the show delivers plenty of other jokes — some subtle and some more exaggerated. Sellart wants to maintain the element of surprise, so he won’t reveal the exact details, but he said:

“Both those who have seen these ballets before and those who have not will equally enjoy the show.” 

“It’s going to be quite a hysterical program this year,” said Kathleen Reed, marketing associate of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Apart from the company’s reinterpretations of the great classics, Trocks has commissioned original works.

“In these pieces, the jokes are not the dancers’ choice or taste but rather were incorporated by the choreographer from the beginning,” he said, adding that most are works by Anastos. “It’s truly a special show that breaks down barriers in a world with such tradition, and you won’t want to miss it. It’s an all-male comedy ballet company: Good dancing, good comedy, lots of fun, and a boisterous atmosphere in the audience.”