Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, ballet in drag, returns Vancouver
Male dancers wear ballerina costumes and pointe shoes to perform classic ballets
A hairy-chested, all-male troupe that parodies classical ballets like Swan Lake and Paquita, all while in drag and pulling off the most refined pirouettes, is returning to Vancouver a for the first time in 30 years.
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, or Les Trocs, performs at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tomorrow night.
"It's extremely hard work to be on pointe shoes — to be a male and be on pointe shoes — and portray the female personas," Svetlana Dvoretsky, president and executive producer of Show One Productions — the company bringing the ballet to Vancouver, told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.
"It's a parody ballet, but it's very, very high-end ballet work."
Dvoretsky has been working for years to bring the New York-based company to Vancouver.
Dvoretsky said she has heard from people who were at troupe's last local performance in 1985 and are looking forward to returning.
"You're going to have a great mood. You will laugh. This is as good for ballet connoisseurs — because they will see very serious tricks and works on stage as well as for people who've never been to a ballet show."
To hear the full interview with Svetlana Dvoretsky, click the audio labelled: Ballet in drag returns to Vancouver.