alison Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Great to catch up with the Trocks at the Peacock in London last night at the near-beginning of a 2-week season. This week's programme was Swan Lake Act II (yet again - London always seems to get that and Les Sylphides as openers, Giselle Act II seemingly being something of a rarity), La Trovatiara (distinctly Le Corsaire-like) and the underwater scene from The Little Humpbacked Horse. Oh, and of course The Dying Swan. The "Mystery Pas de Deux", which I think was from Harlequinade (I was busy trying to digest the new ballerina names!) brought the house down. The audience was hugely appreciative, as ever. One of the reasons I so appreciate seeing the Trocks is the way they dust off all these 19th century ballets and pdd that we'd never get to see otherwise. Will any photos be forthcoming? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Alison, wait no longer as here are some pictures from the two extracts from last night. La Trovatiara pas de Cinq and the now traditional Dying Swan. The Company in La Trovatiara Jack Furlong Jr - Guzella Verbitskaya. Roberto Vega - Mikhail Mypansareov and Joshua Thake - Eugenia Repelskii Duane Gosa - Helen Highwaters in The Dying Swan More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballettaxi Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Love, love, love the Trocks. Can't wait to see them again on 30th October in Edinburgh. This will be my third time watching them and I am positively giddy with excitement as they are so fabulous in every way. It will be an interesting evening as I'm taking along 4 Sisters in Law - all of whom have watch 1 ballet to date (Giselle by Ballet West earlier this year). I'm doing my best to bring some culture to their lives. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 More pics have has just appeared online: https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Photo-Flash-Exclusive-Look-at-All-Male-Comedy-Ballet-Co-Les-Ballets-Trockadero-de-Monte-Carlo-20180913 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Is it usual for the Trocks to have trouble selling tickets in London? I have never seen them live, and had always got the impression that they had the sort of cult following that would make their shows an automatic sell-out (especially as the Peacock Theatre isn't particularly large). But there are plenty of seats left, being discounted at TKTS... (Now, debating whether to catch their mixed bill on Saturday afternoon...) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Go if you can get a cheap ticket - I booked as soon as they went on sale ages ago. You'll love them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Do we have a run time for the show please? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Variable, but about 2 1/4 hours, depending on the mystery pas de deux. And it was mighty full downstairs last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Looking forward very much to this next Friday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 8 hours ago, RuthE said: Is it usual for the Trocks to have trouble selling tickets in London? I have never seen them live, and had always got the impression that they had the sort of cult following that would make their shows an automatic sell-out (especially as the Peacock Theatre isn't particularly large). But there are plenty of seats left, being discounted at TKTS... (Now, debating whether to catch their mixed bill on Saturday afternoon...) might be becasue the LGBTQ community have issues wit hthe trocks after they way they treated Chase Johnsey ... My view on that particular issue appears to be be the one shared by Ms Rojo ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 I was there tonight and it was almost full downstairs. Great show, great dancing and a very appreciative audience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 I thought the turnout on Wednesday was about what you'd normally expect, especially from early in the run before the reviews were out. Don't forget they're also competing directly against Natalia Osipova at Sadler's Wells. Since we have a thread on Chase Johnsey in the News forum, I've moved the discussion about his current and future plans into there: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 What pdd did you get, Sim? I thought the two dancers in Harlequinade - would need to check their names and aliases - were very good, particularly the ballerina, who was very ballerina-esque, if you see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We didn’t get a pdd. We got SL Act 2, the Merce Cunningham spoof (hilarious), La Troviatiara, Dying Swan and Little Humpbacked Horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 Oh, Patterns in Space? I do feel that piece may be a question of diminishing returns, or maybe it's just me - I've probably seen it about 4 times now. What I really wish they'd do again is Yes, Virginia, Another Piano Ballet. I haven't seen it since seeing Dances At A Gathering, and I'm sure I'd appreciate it a lot more now. I thought it was funny back then ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Just out of my first-ever live Trocks show. Patterns in Space was the funniest thing on the programme, though I got the impression a large sector of the audience weren’t really getting it as they weren’t familiar with the sort of thing that was being sent up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Whereas the thing I liked least was La Trovatiara. You have to bear in mind that I know a lot more about Verdi than I do about ballet (in fact, Verdi would probably be my first choice of specialist subject if I ever were to go on Mastermind). I thought the concept in the programme sounded pretty plausible, though if I’d written that blurb I’d have said the ballet was added to the supposed opera when Verdi rewrote it for a Paris premiere. But the problem I had with the piece itself is that Verdi opera ballets don’t take the form of a standard grand pas. So it just didn’t feel like it fitted its supposed purpose. Also... the music wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would be something from which I could pick out tune after tune, like Pineapple Poll or the Act 2 pdd from Fille. But with the exception of a couple of bits of the Anvil Chorus, all the snippets of tunes were shoe-horned into waltz tempo or whatever, and barely recognisable. So Trovatiara didn’t work for me. But hey, what do I know? I’m somebody who only goes to Song of the Earth if I know the singers are good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Thoroughly enjoyed The Trocks this afternoon, especially after the Osipova show last night. Good to see some other cast members taking over the Dying Swan solo and Helen Highwaters did a sterling job. The usual slapstick in Swan Lake never fails to amuse. Loved seeing the new to me pieces La Trovitaria and the Little Humpbacked Horse. Patterns in Space is just hilarious and I do wonder if it's cocking a snook to noisy audience members too! All in all a great fun show and looking forward to program 2 next week. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 20, 2018 Author Share Posted September 20, 2018 Well, I saw Programme 2 on its opening night, and really loved it. It consisted of Les Sylphides, the pas de six from Napoli, and Raymonda's Wedding, along with Olga Supphozova - ah - "executing" The Dying Swan, and, as mystery pas de deux - Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, a new one on me, at least as far as the Trocks are concerned. I found myself wishing Jane S was there so I could have got her take on the Bournonville, but I thought the "boys" in particular were excellent - bounding and leaping as to the manner born. The company has acquired quite a few new members in the 3 years since they were last in the UK - including several very recent recruits - and I found myself wondering at several times during the performance whether I'd ever seen them dance better. I don't think I have. Raymonda in particular was quite stunning, and brought the house down! The company will be touring the country after their London season, and the programme shows that Paquita and the pas de six from La Esmeralda will be on the menu at some point: lucky regions! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 (edited) I agree wholeheartedly with Alison. The performance was a pass to forget all other travails for the bat of some delightfully frivolous eyelashes and to simply have a grand time. A heady restorative. For a while the world smiled inclusively as the boys went to bat in rapturous tow. There can be no question but that this is 'a prescriptive product' ... but it is a decidedly happy one. Those I fear can sometimes be in rather rare supply. Long may it occasionally continue to stock our selves. Edited September 20, 2018 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 21 hours ago, Bruce Wall said: I agree wholeheartedly with Alison. The performance was a pass to forget all other travails for the bat of some delightfully frivolous eyelashes and to simply have a grand time. A heady restorative. For a while the world smiled inclusively as the boys went to bat in rapturous tow. There can be no question but that this is 'a prescriptive product' ... but it is a decidedly happy one. Those I fear can sometimes be in rather rare supply. Long may it occasionally continue to stock our selves. My point about The Merry Widow, exactly, Bruce! Love the Trocks. Once saw them at a matinée, then AusBallet in the evening. Not a great idea 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 What fun last night (and I was in sorely in need of it). This was a new programme for me and I thought it was terrific. I haven't seen a serious version of Les Sylphides for so long and I am now wondering why. I would love to see the full Raymonda too. I must admit I thought of a certain bolshoi ballerina. It was a very appreciative audience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 22, 2018 Author Share Posted September 22, 2018 I enjoyed it so much the other night that I went again this afternoon - stuff Open House (of which I am usually a big fan), the Trocks are more fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMC Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 I think the Trocks should be available on the NHS - I would defy anyone not to feel better after watching them. What I love about them is that they never overdo the humour so you get that wonderful mix of watching some quite wonderful dancing and then suddenly bursting into laughter, either at the more slapstick moments or their more subtle send-ups of ballet mannerisms, like the 'girls' in the Bournonville holding their skirts and standing at the sides, gesturing to the dancers who are doing their solos. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the matinee performance yesterday but was particularly taken by the blank faced poet in Les Sylphides - and then his wonderful wig in Raymonda. It brought back many a memory of Bolshoi productions from a few years back. The very decent sized audience appeared to lap it up, as did I - what a great antidote to the outside world at the moment. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 I agree with everyone about how uncomplicately enjoyable the show is. Two things really strike me: firstly, how everything is clearly based on a deep respect and affection for ballet and its classical repertoire; secondly, how brilliantly "family-friendly" it is: just good clean fun! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 On 22/09/2018 at 11:48, Shade said: I must admit I thought of a certain bolshoi ballerina. When I saw Programme 1 there were two particular "female" dancers who reminded me very strongly of two specific female members of the Royal Ballet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 A lovely review of The Trocks from ToThePointe magazine: http://tothepointemagazine.wixsite.com/tothepointemagazine/single-post/2018/10/02/Les-Ballets-Trockadero-de-Monte-Carlo-at-The-Peacock-Theatre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 What is the best cure for a very stressful couple of days?? A day trip to see The Trocks in Buxton of course!!! OK - the drive there was somewhat stressful too with high winds over Thelwall Viaduct and the tops of the Cat & Fiddle route but.... Buxton Opera House is a favourite theatre of mine ... a gorgeous Frank Matcham chocolate box of an auditorium (BOH was his dress rehearsal for the London Coliseum not that I ever see the similarities!). However, the stage is very small and the rake is most bizarre - slope, flat, slope. I did wonder how the Trocks would cope (as I have wondered every time I have seen ballet there) and they coped very well indeed! We started with the usual list of changes and dancers and the packed out audience was in fits of laughter! The first piece was Swan Lake Act 2. I think it had been tightened up since I last saw it performed by them and there were some more slapstick jokes. But when they danced ... oh boy did they dance! It was a great way to start the afternoon and I was de-stressed by the time the curtain came down. After the first interval we were treated, as an extra, to Patterns in Space. I just love this Cunningham pastiche, which was superbly danced and played. Much out loud guffawing from the audience! Then the Esmerelda pas de six, which was a new one on me and great fun. Act 2 ended with another extra - The Dying Swan - nothing more to say! The afternoon ended with a superb rendition of Paquita. This was danced more or less without ornamentation (ok, a couple of staged slips and collisions but only a very couple). It was a TOTAL JOY!!! What a way to finish the afternoon. Judging by the applause and standing ovation the rest of the audience enjoyed the performance as much as I did. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the talk because I had to move my car but what a truly fabulous afternoon. Thank you The Trocks! Please come back soon! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, Janet, and agree - the Trocks should be available on prescription as a stress treatment. I'm horribly jealous, since we didn't get either La Esmeralda or Paquita in London. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 (edited) I was lucky to see the Trocks again yesterday in Buxton as well as Janet - sorry I missed you. De=stresser indeed - this was my 3rd repeat prescription since they landed here! I had to go again as I wanted to see Paquita and Esmerelda, neither of which were performed in London and boy was I glad I went to Buxton. I cannot get enough of The Trocks. I think they put in a few different funny bits in Swan Lake Act 2 to the one I saw in September - maybe different dancers do different funnies...anyway to be able to do all that slapstick they HAVE to be good dancers and they did not disappoint. I have seen Patterns in Space 3 times this run and it never gets tired! Nor does Swan Lake Act 2 or the Dying Swan. I enjoyed Esmerelda especially as it was danced by 2 of my favourite Trocks, Nina Immobilashvili (Alberto Pretto) and Jacques D'aniels (Joshua Thake). However the best piece yesterday has to be Paquita which, as Janet says, was performed more or less straight. I loved Helen Highwaters's Italian Fouettes and then Alla Snizova did a full set of fouettes as well. Lots of bravura dancing throughout this piece which showed again the skill of the dancers. Beautiful costumes as well! Earlier in London I had seen Programmes 1 and 2 and they were equally as much fun as the Buxton selection. Here is Olga Supphozova after performing The Dying Swan on 22/9/18 - she also "graciously agreed to execute the Dying Swan" yesterday in Buxton. Raymonda's Wedding 22/9/18 and The Little Humped Backed Horse 15/9/18 (below), La Trovitaria and Napoli completed the rep I saw. I hope it will not be long before these givers of joy return to the UK. Edited October 14, 2018 by Don Q Fan 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 I was there also, albeit for the evening performance. I went to Buxton in the afternoon, so that I could spend some time walking the charming spa town. It was a very slow journey to Buxton, on account of the roadworks on the M6, but the stress of this was forgotten when I discovered the Buxton Beer Festival was on. Hic 🤣 I really can't add much to what the other have said. It was fab! I've always felt the Trocks are at their best on a small stage, and the Buxton Opera House is the perfect venue. It has a faded glamour, and I feel very much at home there. Just when you thought it was over, the Trocks reappeared with a high-kicking Rockettes style rendition of New York, New York - I've never seen them do that before. Great fun! During my wanderings, I bumped into Duane Gosa and two others (sadly I forget who) in the town centre. I said a quick "Hello", so as not to intrude. They are very approachable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 57 minutes ago, trog said: Just when you thought it was over, the Trocks reappeared with a high-kicking Rockettes style rendition of New York, New York - I've never seen them do that before Is saw the same programme in Dublin and they did a hilarious (if turned out rather than in parallel!) version of Riverdance as a closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 I love the Riverdance closer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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