This Gender-Defying Ballet Company Has Thrived For 50 Years

Now that the holiday season is upon us that means the dance sensation, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, is back performing at the Joyce theater in New York City. The legendary dance company performs there every other year.

Founded in 1974, against the backdrop of the Stonewall Uprising, their vision was to have men dance all the roles in classical ballets. While pirouetting in pointe shoes and tutus they lovingly parody the conventions of these traditional dances.

“We are an all-male comedy ballet company that uses drag to highlight the comedy,” says longtime artistic director Tory Dobrin. The key to their success is playing around with the conventions of gender relationships. “We display the obvious absurdity of many ballet traditions and canons. This often triggers people to recognize some of their own absurdist thoughts, which we all have within us,” says Dobrin. “Once one recognizes the absurdity of some of their own thoughts, they may be able to look at them through a clearer lens and non-judgmental eye. Then it is easier to relax and find humor.”

Fifty years ago, the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (or Troks) started kind of scrappy, performing in a second floor loft in Manhattan’s meatpacking district. The shows were held at the headquarters of the Westside Discussion Group, an offshoot of the Mattachine Society, a prominent gay rights organization. The company was founded by several ballet aficionados, including Peter Anastos, Anthony Bassae, and Natch Taylor. And to this day the Trocks continue to be ambassadors of L.G.B.T.Q. culture and acceptance.

During those early days they did midnight shows and used comedians and non-professional dancers. They brought drag to audiences that didn’t know what drag was. And they were able to deftly marry comedy with great dancing technique. “The company organized itself and worked hard to improve and develop the dancing and the comedy,” says Dobrin who joined the company as a dancer in 1980. “Under the administrative leadership of Eugene McDougle, the artistic directors had the freedom to concentrate on the comedy and dance elements.”

Dobrin vividly remembers when he joined the company. “1980 was a completely different world for all of us,” he says. His first tour was in South America when military dictatorships were in full force. “I am quite sure the governments had no idea the Trocks were an all-male comedy ballet company in drag and would have never granted permission for us to tour to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile,” says Dobrin. “The governments possibly thought we were the Ballet of Monte Carlo. And the public was living through difficult, repressive times. They flocked to the theater to see these free-spirited dancer/drag artists using comedy to entertain.”

He remembers how the audience received the troupe with jubilant enthusiasm. “It was unbelievably fun and interesting for all of us on stage. I found my place in my career,” says Dobrin. One big change from 1980 was that there were no children in the audience. But now teenagers and children fill the audience. “That speaks to how much society has changed,” says Dobrin. "We are not a children’s show, of course, but the performance is a great introduction to dance for kids. The show is fun and the quality of dance is high.”

Decades later the Trocks have continued to establish themselves as one of the world’s finest comic ballet troupes. They have performed around the world over 660 cities around the world from Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater in to the Chatelet in Paris to Kennedy Center Opera House with their resident orchestra.

As much as they love being the road, the Trocks are also passionate about performing at the Joyce theater which has been their creative home for 16 seasons, since 1996. The Troks are presenting two different programs through January 5th. It includes some of their greatest ballets like‘Swan Lake (Act II), Giselle (Act II) and Raymonda’s Wedding. They are also debuting the premiere of Symphony, inspired by George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, which was choreographed for the Trocks by Durante Verzola.

The historic Joyce, one of just three theaters in the world that is devoted exclusively to dance, has been key in their success. “We so appreciate and honor the commitment and support The Joyce Theater has shown us, under Linda Shelton’s tenure," says Dobrin. “The Joyce is an important venue for dance. And it keeps us centered and grounded to know that every two years we have a wonderful home season in New York, where we are based. And returning to The Joyce, where we know the staff so well, is always a pleasure, like returning home to work again with people who become like friends.”

After half a century Dobrin hopes that the Trocks continue to captivate audiences with their unique blend of ballet and drag. “We dream to be able to continue to exist in this very difficult time for all cultural institutions. Since Covid-19 it has not been easy for anyone,” he says. “Society is changing a lot. Here’s hoping that the public continues to go to the theater to experience dance, classical music, plays and musicals.”