I was supposed to be going to the ballet today to see The Snow Queen but all the trains to Edinburgh were cancelled so I couldn’t go. To console myself I’m going to share my experiences of another ballet production my friend, Alison, and I went to a couple of months back.

We went to the ballet – we knew it was going to be different – it was going to be comedic – and the all male troupe would be dancing all the parts, both male and female.

Anyone who hasn’t seen Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are in for a treat if you do get the opportunity. They are an international touring company based in New York but are on stage across the whole world. They parody “the full range of ballet and modern dance” and while they may exaggerate behaviours they do take their dance seriously – so much so that I was surprised to see the male dancers playing the female parts dancing en pointe where necessary. To me, that shows the professionalism of the dancers and although using humour in the production, they do take their dance technique seriously.

At our production we were treated to Swan Lake, Act II, along with the Dying Swan scene. Additionally, our performance also included the Vivaldi Suite and Raymonda’s Wedding. I’m providing links to performances for those which are available on YouTube so you can see for yourself the quality of dancing and the humour they use while performing dance to a high professional standard.

I have to admit the dancers were as professional as you’d expect from any ballet production; so much so that I could forget that I was not watching female ballerinas, it was easy to get caught up with the story and the dance.

It was also highly amusing. I had tears streaming down my face – as the cygnets entered on stage and one stumbled and fell and at another time, when the ballerina stood on her male partner’s toes and he was then limping around the stage. I’d encourage you to watch the links above to really get a feel for the humour, you will appreciate it much more from the videos than me explaining it. But they are definitely worth going to see if you get the opportunity. I’d also say that for those not familiar with the ballet, you’re likely to enjoy it too – because of the humour but also because of the exaggerated mannerisms etc it will be so much easier to follow the storyline.

I love Swan Lake, and I hope I get another opportunity to see the Trocks perform in the future. However, I do not believe that their production will detract from other ballet company productions.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are definitely worth checking out. If they’re at a theatre near you, I’d urge you to go along; if not, click on the links above and have a laugh, you won’t be disappointed.

So you’re not disappointed by missing out on my future posts, sign up to my blog today