Ask Joshua Grant what the toughest thing was about dancing for five years with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and you won’t hear about the agony of strapping his feet into pointe shoes. Nor will it be lacing himself into a tutu, or learning the fine art of putting on stage makeup and false eyelashes – or even learning how to dance female ballet roles while being hysterically funny.
No, Grant says the toughest things about being part of the world-famous parody ballet company are the 35 weeks a year of plane travel and jet-lag. His former troupe mates will be experiencing both when the troupe comes to Tacoma on Saturday for one performance.
Since 1974, “The Trocks” have been delighting audiences with their hilarious renditions of ballet standards from “The Nutcracker” to Merce Cunningham. Sixteen men in tutus, wigs and pointe shoes would be funny enough, but they also tweak the conventions, traditions and potential mishaps of ballet with a combination of formidable technique and Marx Brothers attitude.
Yet it’s no mean feat for a 20-year-old male dancer to strap on pointe shoes and execute pirouettes and arabesques in a tutu. Why do the guys do it? For the freedom, for the fun of it, and – says Grant – for the camaraderie.
“You have to be close. You’re on tour 35 weeks a year on planes, buses and trains together. ... You have to band together,” says Grant, who recently joined Pacific Northwest Ballet after five years with the Trocks. “It’s a family, everyone’s got each other’s backs. Of course there are fights, but at the end of the day you still love them.”
There’s a lot of practical support too, says Grant, with company members showing rookies how to put on the thick drag makeup that takes an hour to apply before each performance.
Troupe members also get a chance to adapt to pointe shoes before being cast in principal girls’ roles, says Grant, though artistic director Tory Dobrin says Trocks dancers come far more prepared these days than they ever used to.
“Back in my day (as a dancer), in the 1980s, we’d just show up, it wasn’t something I planned,” says Dobrin. “Now it’s a career choice for young guys; they come prepared and pretty strong en pointe.”
Grant himself first strapped on pointe shoes three weeks before his Trocks audition, taking a few pointe classes. Even that, he says, is a huge step forward from how things used to be.
“Before, it was a stigma; you would have been kicked out of class if you showed up in pointes,” he says. “Now I can even get feedback from the women in class. It’s more open-minded now.”
Of course there’s still a learning curve as to the unique Trocks parody style – “It takes a year; they have their idea of what’s funny and I have mine,” says Dobrin wryly – but for dancers like Grant, Les Ballets Trockadero is still a whole lot more fun than a regular company.
“When I joined, I was 23. I had been dancing since I was 3, and professionally since I was 18, and I was really burned out,” Grant says. “I was looking around for other ways to earn a living in theater: Cirque du Soleil, Broadway, anything that wasn’t ballet. Then a friend went to audition (for the Trocks) and I thought it would be fun.”
After a “nervewracking” audition, that’s just what Grant had: “My favorite role was the Dying Swan (from Swan Lake), it’s so personal. I’ve never seen two performances that are alike. It’s the most artistic thing I’ve ever done in my entire career. But I also loved “La Vivandiere,” “Il Travatiaro,” all the different roles. And there’s lots of opportunity compared to a bigger company.”
Even the mishaps can be fun. Dobrin remembers the time when one member was dancing the Queen of the Wilis in “Giselle” and his lower skirt fell off.
“He just stepped out of it, kicked it off stage and went on,” says Dobrin.
Funnier still was another wardrobe malfunction for a dancer playing an elderly ballet teacher in “Ballet School.”
“His dress became undone at the back and his whole backside was exposed, but he didn’t know it,” Dobrin says drily. “The audience went insane.”
With or without exposed backsides, 38 years of rave reviews from off-off-Broadway to royal command performances prove that a Trocks show is always fun for the audience.
“The great thing about it is that everyone enjoys it,” says Dobrin. “Yes, if you know the historical details, that’s interesting. But the comedy is visual, so it’s a show for all ages ... kids, the gay crowd, people who love dance, who love comedy.”
What works best for parody are the traditional tutu ballets, Dobrin says, and the Tacoma show will include Act II of “Swan Lake,” featuring both the Dying Swan and the incredibly funny pas de quatre, with the fourth “ballerina” trying desperately to keep up with the others and failing hysterically. There’s also the more modern “Patterns in Space,” a tribute to the late choreographer Merce Cunningham, with live musicians clowning on stage.
Unfortunately for Grant, PNB will be dancing at the same time, so he won’t get to hang out with his old friends.
Does he miss Les Ballets Trockadero?
“I miss the people,” he says quickly. “But I don’t miss the 15-hour flights and jet-lag. And do I miss the pain of pointe shoes? Absolutely not. I’m glad there are some things boys don’t have to do.”
Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568
rosemary.ponnekanti@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/arts
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