Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo (Birmingham)

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo is once again visiting the Birmingham Hippodrome.  The Trocks, as they are affectionately known, perform excerpts of well known ballets – but with a twist – all the performers are men! The affectionate parodies of these excerpts are performed with much hilarity but with also a huge amount of talent.

That’s the great thing about the Trocks, it may well be a parody of some of the great classic ballets but the performers are all fantastic dancers.  All have a wealth of experience in a variety of companies and have joined together to give an alternative version of these pieces.  Whether it be strained facial expressions, trying to communicate with the audience, bumping into each other as they move around the stage, or even falling off the stage, it is all with such precision and perfect timing and the company move in sync with each other.  It’s a spectacle to watch and you quickly forget that the performers in the tutus or the flowing skirts are in fact men.

The first two acts are full of highly comedic pieces.  The end of the second act ‘Dying Swan’ is almost farcical with (at this performance) Paul Ghiselin being chased by the spot light and melodramatically labouring the death of the swan in question.  The third act however tones down the comedy and we are treated to ‘Walpurghis Night’ inspired by the Bolshoi Ballet’s Valpurgeyeva Noch.  

The Trocks are a fantastic company to introduce someone to the traditional ballet but are also a treat for those familiar with the classical ballets from the past.  A hilarious evening and a showcase of some incredible talent.

 – Jonathan Wright