Drag Ballet Company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Returns

Trailblazing comedy ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo started out in 1974 as a downtown New York drag act in the wake of the Stonewall Riots. Nearly 50 years on, The Trocks are known and loved worldwide for their hilarious parodies of the conventions of classical ballet. Over those years they have shared their signature style and message of equality and inclusion with audiences, providing a stage for dancers often under-represented in ballet, whether that be due to sexual orientation, gender identity, size, class, race or ethnicity.

Now the rest of the world is catching up. As Kevin Garcia, a dancer with the company since 2017, says: "Every time the curtain opens, we represent progress for equality. We just do it dancing."

The company's 16 extraordinary dancers - who hail from China, Cuba, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the US - pair immaculate technique with impeccable comic timing as they take on a kaleidoscope of roles, both male and female. Each dancer has their own performer alter egos including Olga Supphozova, Jacques D'Aniels, Holly Dey-Abroad, Minnie Van Driver, Timur Legupski and Ludmila Beaulemova.

The Trocks are presenting three programmes in the UK, two in London and one on tour, featuring beloved classical ballets, modern works and iconic music by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Vivaldi and Massenet. The performances may be hilarious but they are also seriously underpinned with huge knowledge and respect for the original repertoire.

At London's Peacock Theatre, the first programme (6 to 10 September) includes the company's signature work, Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), sweeping audiences into a magical realm of swans; Nightcrawlers, set to Chopin nocturnes and choreographed by founding artistic director Peter Anastos; and the Bolshoi Ballet-inspired and high Soviet balletic camp of Valpurgeyeva Noch.

The second programme (12 to 17 September) includes the abstract classical ballet Les Sylphides set to the sublime music of Chopin with its evocation of dreams, desire and melancholy; the fiendishly difficult Vivaldi Suite, an homage to Balanchine; and the Spanish-styled Majisimas, a seductive demonstration of the intricate beauty of classical ballet technique.

The tour programme includes Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II); Vivaldi Suite; and Raymonda's Wedding, the traditionally confusing divertissements from the final act of 'Raymonda' which has baffled audiences since its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1898. The Trocks ignore all the plot intrigues and go straight for the happy ending.

This is The Trocks' seventeenth visit to the UK. It's the sixth tour presented by Dance Consortium, an 18-strong group of large-scale venues in the UK and Ireland with a mission to tour a diverse range of international dance companies to a nationwide audience. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2020 and this is their 50th tour.

Tour Dates

Tuesday 6 September - Saturday 17 September
Peacock Theatre, LONDON
Portugal St, London WC2A 2HT
Tickets: 020 7863 8222 / www.sadlerswells.com

Tuesday 6 September - Saturday 10 September at 7.30pm
Saturday 10 September at 2.30pm
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Nightcrawlers, Valpurgeyeva Noch

Monday 12 September - Saturday 17 September at 7.30pm
Saturday 17 September at 2.30pm
Programme: Les Sylphides, Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Majisimas

Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 September at 7.30pm
The Marlowe Theatre CANTERBURY
The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS
Tickets: 01227 787787 / www.marlowetheatre.com
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 23 & Saturday 24 September at 7.30pm
BRIGHTON Dome
Church St, Brighton BN1 1UE
Tickets: 01273 709709 / https://brightondome.org/
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 30 September & Saturday 1 October at 7.30pm
NORWICH Theatre Royal
Theatre St, Norwich NR2 1RL
Tickets: 01603 630000 / www.norwichtheatre.org
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 October at 7.30pm
Royal Concert Hall NOTTINGHAM
Theatre Square, Nottingham NG1 5ND
Tickets: 0115 989 5555 / www.trch.co.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 7 & Saturday 8 October at 7.30pm
BUXTON Opera House
Water St, Buxton SK17 6XN
Tickets: 01298 72190 / www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Tuesday 11 & Wednesday 12 October at 7.30pm
HULL New Theatre
Kingston Square, Hull HU1 3HF
Tickets: 01482 300306 / www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 14 & Saturday 15 October at 7.30pm
Alhambra Theatre BRADFORD
Morley St, Bradford BD7 1AJ
Tickets: 01274 432000 / www.bradford-theatres.co.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Tuesday 18 & Wednesday 19 October at 7.30pm
Newcastle Theatre Royal
100 Grey St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6BR
Tickets: 0191 232 7010 / www.theatreroyal.co.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 21 & Saturday 22 October at 7.30pm
EDINBURGH Festival Theatre at 7.30pm
13-29 Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9FT
Tickets: 0131 529 6000 / www.capitaltheatres.com
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Tuesday 25 October at 7.30pm
Hall for Cornwall TRURO
Back Quay, Truro TR1 2LL
Tickets: 01872 262466 / www.hallforcornwall.co.uk (on sale in June)
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

Friday 28 & Saturday 29 October at 7.30pm
Grand Opera House BELFAST
2 - 4 Great Victoria St, Belfast BT2 7HR
Tickets: 028 9024 1919 / www.goh.co.uk
Programme: Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake Act II), Pas de Deux or modern work to be announced, Vivaldi Suite, Raymonda's Wedding

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