LIVERMORE — For more than 40 years, the all-male comic ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has been delighting audiences of all ages. They will bring their fabulous sense of fun, flawless dance technique, and over-the-top frivolity to Livermore on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in their first visit to the Bankhead Theater and their only stop in Northern California this season.
Bankhead Theater is at 2400 First Street in downtown Livermore. Tickets are $20 to $100 for adults and $20 for students and active military. For tickets call 925-373-6800 or go online www.lvpac.org
Established in New York in 1974, The Trocks original concept has never changed, a company of professional male dancers performing classical and original ballet and modern dance repertoire, in faithful renditions of the manners and conceits of those dance styles. The comedy is achieved by their exaggeration of the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. They first performed in the late-late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts, where their unique combination of talent and fun quickly brought them artistic and popular success. The Trocks’ busy tour schedule has taken them to 34 countries and over 600 cities, where they are loved for their sassy spoofs, parodies and hilarious homages to the traditional classical ballets.
Each dancer transforms into two personas, both male and female, including such stars as Maya Thickenthighya, Jacques d’Aniels, and Mikhail Mypansarov. Every performance froths with tutus and testosterone, blush-pink ballet shoes, fierce false eyelashes and prima ballerina attitude. Hilarity aside, what makes this company extraordinary is their immaculate technique and daring physicality, surpassed only by their impeccable comic timing. It all comes together in an irresistibly entertaining evening of laughter, described as “the funniest night you will ever have at the ballet.”
Tickets have sold quickly for the single performance on January 31st at the Bankhead. The $20 regular ticket level is already sold out, although discounted tickets for students and active military personnel are still available at that price.