The Trocks rock again

What a drag: the three-part programme of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo for Bangkok is the same as last weekend’s in Singapore and next weekend’s in Hong Kong. It will begin with their most popular show, Act 2 of “Swan Lake”, which Bangkok audiences saw when the boys were in town a few years ago for the International Festival of Dance and Music. Just right there you wonder, why buy a ticket to see what we’ve already watched?
 “The lead dancer is a different one,” begins artistic director Tory Dobrin, confidently. “And because it’s a comedy, the type of comedy will also be different as comedians differ from one to another. People who have seen it say it’s like a new ballet. It’s our campiest piece. And we like opening our programme with a ‘white’ ballet because it tends to bring the audience in mentally. We also have ‘Giselle’ and ‘La Sylphides’ as options. Next time we’re in Bangkok, we’ll probably open with ‘La Sylphides’.”
The snatch of “Swan Lake” will be followed by “Le Grand Pas de Quatre”, which we’ve never seen. And as it’s about “four ballerinas competing with one another”, it holds bitchy promise of “a great comedy”.
The highlight of the evening is “Raymonda’s Wedding”, of which Dobrin says, “We’ve never done this in Asia, and it’s based on the Bolshoi style.”
Prior to this three-city Asia tour, the company was in Bogota, Colombia for the first time in their 38-year history with the same programme Bangkok audiences saw on their debut here nine years ago. In summer, high demand will take them to Europe, followed by Australia and New Zealand in the autumn. And this comes after a two-month US tour at the beginning of the year then dates in Europe in March.
Dobrin explains how the 16 dancers make it fresh and fun every evening despite the frenetic schedule.
“Every ballet has multiple casts, and nobody is doing the same ballet over and over again. Everyone gets to do everything. In rehearsals, I switch them around. Consequently, they don’t have this frustration [of dancers in companies with a hierarchy] which can create a kind of negative energy. And everybody is a different individual so everyone brings their own type of comedy. They’re also looking carefully at how others are doing certain roles, knowing that they may get to do them one day. And so this brings camaraderie.”
During a matinee in Bogota, recalls Dobrin, the dancer performing the Prince suffered injury and had to be suddenly switched for one of the swans. With the help of a fast costume change, no one noticed. “Well, his mother was not in the audience,” smiles Dobrin.
Another reason why the show never gets “old” is that “The audience is having a really good time, and so are the dancers. If you tell an old joke, and people are laughing, then it feels fresh.”
The troupe also has modern-dance pieces in its repertoire but these rarely make it to the programme.
“Coming to see Trockadero, audiences expect to see tutus, wigs and pointe shoes… Put these dancers in modern works [without these accessories], and the audience in the back rows may see them as ugly girls.”
Dobrin says that their repertoire of works is now pretty stable and generally members stay with the company for quite a long time. Dancers do e-mail the troupe, though, for informal auditions during classes where they’re performing. The first thing Dobrin looks for is a good dancer – “which you can tell within five minutes”.
“I like to see how they react to other dancers. Our dancers are friendly [not a trait usually associated with ballet performers]. I want them to also be team players.”
“I also tell them that there’s only one rule – show up on time. Then I say if you like to dance a lot, and be on the road all the time, then this is a good job. Then I get them to go into the dressing room where our dancers will scare them off.”
Dobrin also notes how the troupe has changed over time: “In the 1980s, it was a company where dancers came to have a good time before they stopped dancing. Nowadays, we have two guys who joined us right after they finished ballet academy. We’ve been around so long and society has changed. What was once not acceptable – and in the 1980s, Trockadero wasn’t really acceptable – is acceptable now.”
In most places, their audience is a diverse mix – men and women, straight and gay, high-brow and pop.
Dobrin sets the record straight: “This is not a gay show. We’re not addressing gay issues, but dance, comedy and gender issues. If someone associates it with the gay point of view, that part of that society may not be comfortable with what we’re doing. It’s an all-male dance company, not a gay dance company.”
In Asia, Japanese women are probably their biggest fan-base, with the last of the Trocks’ 25 tours to Japan lasting for almost two months in 2010. “They have a history of cross-dressing in theatre and a very wacky sense of humour,” notes Dobrin.
As for the future, Dobrin says he’s happy with the way things are. That means no immediate plans to branch out with full-length ballets, but they will add one or two new works to the repertory every year. Expect “Laurencia” and “Carmen” soon.

The writer thanks BEC-Tero’s Atita Ducci for the kind assistance.
     WIN TROCKS TIX
- Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performs at Royal Paragon Hall from tomorrow until Saturday.
- Show times are at 7.30 nightly with a 2pm matinee on Saturday.
Tickets cost Bt1,700 to Bt3,000 (Bt900 for students) at ThaiTicketMajor.
- Win tickets to Saturday night’s show by telling us, in 50 words or less, why you want to see it. Send your e-mail to [email protected] by noon on Thursday and look in Friday’s paper for the announcement.