‘Trocks’ to show the tight stuff at Ham Hall

Marilyn LaRocque

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.

What: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Artemus Ham Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Tickets: $19, $29, $39; discounts for students, seniors, military and persons with disabilities.

Information: (702) 895-2787.

Is it comedy? Is it ballet? It is both. It is the Trocks.

The internationally acclaimed all-male dance troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, or "The Trocks," will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Ham Hall.

Their program of ballet parody begins with "Swan Lake," Act II, with "The Dying Swan," "A Pointe Deux" and "Yes, Virginia" also on the bill. Concluding the show is "Stars and Stripes Forever," based on George Balanchine's "Stars and Stripes," and choreographed for the Trocks by Robert La Fosse, a leading dancer with New York City Ballet.

Travesty aside, the Trocks expertly execute intricate steps, gravity-defying leaps and muscle-building lifts. However, en pointe, in athlete's-sized toe shoes, the men flounce their tutus, bat outrageously long eyelashes and generally season the revered ballet repertoire with a sizable dash of sass.

With primas named Ludmila Beaulemova, Sveltlana Lofatkina and Yurika Sakitumi, among others, and their partners Igor Slowpokin, Vasisdas Pinski and Velour Pilleaux, for example, it's a sure bet that this is no ordinary night for balletomanes.

The Trocks began in 1974 as a group of ballet enthusiasts who got together and performed in lofts in the late-late shows far off-off Broadway. Arlene Croce of The New Yorker first reviewed them. The New York Times and Village Voice and articles in Variety, Oui, and The London Daily Telegraph followed suit.

By the 1975-1976 season they had acquired the trappings of a fully professional company, with a management organization, a full-time teacher and ballet mistress and support from the National Endowment for the Arts Touring Program. They also toured in the United States and Canada.

The world is now their stage.

In fact, their appearance at UNLV is part of the Performing Arts Season's "World Stage" series. The Trocks have participated in dance festivals from New York to Vienna and Paris. They've appeared on "The Dick Cavett Show" and "Muppet Babies" with Kermit and Miss Piggy. They've been on international TV in England, Japan, Germany and France. They've toured in Australia, Japan, South America, South Africa and throughout Europe.

Also, each summer they have a two-week run at the Joyce Theater in New York. And they appear in benefits for various AIDS organizations and other charities.

In 1999 the Trocks danced at the John F. Kennedy Center Honors celebration in Washington and also at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival in New York City.

Dancers become Trocks by audition.

"The appeal of The Trocks is universal," Artistic Director Tory Dobrin said in a recent interview. "We look for a good dancer with a sense of humor who's a team player. The Trocks rehearse for about five weeks and tour for about 35 weeks. That makes for a very tough schedule.

"After resting and visiting family and friends, the year is up."

The Trocks have two 10-year tenure dancers Manolo Molina (Fifi Barkova) from Guatemala and Jai Williams (Nadia Rombova) from Las Vegas.

Williams started dancing lessons very late, at 16, when he was at Chaparral High School.

"I always liked musicals and was into the dancing thing," he said. "My mother (Kathy Williams, who still lives in Las Vegas) realized I liked dancing, and she took me to Winston DeWitt Hemsley's dance studio."

After graduation Williams attended the Houston Ballet Academy for 2 1/2 years. In 1993 he went to New York City, where after only a few months of freelance assignments he successfully auditioned for the Trocks.

Why the Trocks instead of a traditional ballet company?

"The point-shoe thing," he replied, "but it's really hard. Men usually train in ballet slippers. It was like learning how to dance all over again."

Williams is about 6 feet tall and weighs a trim 142 pounds. When he's training, his typical diet is an egg-white omelet for breakfast, a midmorning power bar, a light lunch of an apple with a tuna sandwich, another bar or protein shake in the afternoon, with a sensible dinner of brown rice and a chicken breast.

For exercise he has a daily 45 minute weight training session, 20 minutes of cardio, plus classes and rehearsals.

"Being on the road drastically changes things," he said. "We have a lot of one-night stands. You don't know where or when you're going to eat next. You eat what's there. When you're in one spot for a long engagement, you can eat properly."

Williams throughly enjoys dancing with the Trocks.

"Once you get into company, the fun and sense of humor of it comes out," he remarked. "You can develop the character of a role onstage. It's not stiff or impersonal.

"There are about 14 guys. We're a small, close-knit family."