Jacob's Pillow and MASS MoCA present "The Trocks"
Becket – Co-presented by Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performs at MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11 at 8pm. The all-male company presents an entertaining array of traditional ballet repertoire exaggerating underlying absurdities in classical dance to amuse in satirical fashion.Dressed in extravagant costumes, full makeup and dancing en pointe, the Trocks, as the company is affectionately known, prove that ballet isn’t just for highbrow arts connoisseurs. With a combination of technical prowess, theatrical flair, and comedic timing, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo delights audiences and critics alike. According to The New York Times, “Their program of grand ballet is as much food for the mind as it is for the eye and the funny bone,” and The Austin Chronicle writes, “They shine with such a decidedly self-deprecating brilliance that one can’t help but laugh with them and adore them.” Each performance will be followed by a post-show talk with Jacob’s Pillow Executive Director Ella Baff and Trocks Artistic Director Tory Dobrin.
Jacob’s Pillow and MASS MoCA have enjoyed a longstanding partnership since the center for contemporary visual and performing arts was founded in 1999. The Pillow, along with several other partners, was an important initial supporter of MASS MoCA’s performing arts programming. Since 1999 MASS MoCA and the Pillow as part of MASS MoCA’s diverse year round programming -- which includes music, dance, theater, film, residencies and work-in-progress showings -- have co-presented a dance event in October, a continuation of both organizations’ mission to further the development of artists and art forms, encourage experimentation within and between various art forms, and further the public’s understanding of creative processes and its outcomes. Baff recommends artists from her vast knowledge and relationships in the dance field and, with MASS MoCA’s curator of performing arts, Rachel Chanoff, decides which artist to bring to the Berkshires. Past co-presentations have included Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Philadanco, MOMIX, Dance Brazil, and Armitage Gone! Dance.
“The dancing continues for the Pillow as we close the Festival and migrate north for our annual fall dance event with MASS MoCA. The Pillow is dedicated to bringing more dance to more people throughout the Berkshires, and to presenting a wide range of dance that opens minds and eyes,” comments Ella Baff. ”The Trocks were a radical idea when the company was first founded – a troupe of men dancers performing ballet en pointe?! – and they’ve become one of the most beloved and popular companies in the world. Similarly, when Ted Shawn founded Jacob’s Pillow with his company of Men Dancers, it shook the world, and dance was never the same again.”
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performs an eclectic repertoire of classical dance. From George Balanchine’s classic Stars and Stripes (1957) to the holiday spectacular The Nutcracker to Marius Petipa’s famed Don Quixote, no ballet is safe from the Trocks. The company’s MASS MoCA performance will include Swan Lake, Go for Barocco, and Paquita. Swan Lake, the company’s signature work, showcases the dancers’ devotion to classical movement as well as their wit. Staged by Truitti Gasparinetti and set to a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’s production of Act II of Swan Lake elicits praise from critics and audiences worldwide, especially those familiar with the full-length ballet, the story of Princess Odette who was turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer. The San Francisco Chronicle writes, “It's all here, beautifully observed and lovingly satirized.” Go for Barocco pays tribute to choreography by George Balanchine, famed Russian-American ballet choreographer and founder of the School of American Ballet. The Chicago Review says the work “is a sendup of George Balanchine so funny and authentic that it serves as a reminder that the best parody betrays a not-so-secret adoration of its target.” The MASS MoCA program also includes Petipa’s Paquita which was created in Russia in 1846 and revised in 1881 with a new score by Ludwig Minkus. The ballet’s central character is a woman of noble birth, raised by gypsies. The Trocks perform Elena Kunikova’s restaging of Petipa’s ballet with Spanish flair and brilliant technique.
Ballet enthusiasts founded Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in 1974 in order to present traditional ballet in parody form. After performing in off-Broadway venues in New York City, the company gained national and international attention. In 1975 the company started its first extended tour of the United States and Canada. Since then the company has participated in major dance festivals in Holland, Madrid, New York, Paris, Spoleto, Turin, and Vienna and has performed in more than 500 cities worldwide, including Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, and Madrid. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo contributes to charitable causes through performances benefiting various international AIDS organizations including DRA (Dancers Responding to AIDS), Classical Action, Life Ball, Dancers for Life, and Stonewall Gala. In 2006 the company was honored with the Critic’s Circle Award’s Company Prize for Outstanding Classical Repertoire.
