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Les Balrockadero De Monte Carlo Comes To Milton Keynes Theatre This Week
14-venue Ireland and UK tour presented by Dance Consortium includes performances at Milton Keynes Theatre on Tue 2 & Wed 3 Jun 2026
“We came to laugh, but we stayed to worship.” Sunday Telegraph
This spring, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, make a much-anticipated return to Ireland and the UK for a 14-venue tour presented by Dance Consortium. The Trocks, fresh from celebrating their 50th anniversary, are still delighting audiences around the world with their hilarious parodies of
classical ballet - performed with impeccable technique and fabulous comic timing.
The Trocks’ love of Classical and Romantic ballet is at the heart of what they do. Their perfectly judged blend of satire, subversion and slapstick is rooted in deep knowledge and respect for the original repertoire. For every show, its elite dancers transform into two personas, ballerina and
danseur, to perform some of the most iconic and challenging roles from the classical ballet canon.
“One of the most unusually gifted dance companies in existence” The Stage
In the UK and Ireland, they are presenting two different programmes - one on tour and one in London - spanning both ballet and contemporary dance. On tour, Swan Lake; Pas de Deux or modern work or solo to be announced; Go For Barocco; Dying Swan; Walpurgisnacht Swan Lake
Choreography after Lev Ivanovich Ivanov. Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Simon Tuck (Mornings from 9-12) saw the show
Review: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at Milton Keynes Theatre
Going into the auditorium, I must admit I knew absolutely nothing about what I was about to see. I am a lifelong lover of classical ballet, so a few natural questions crossed my mind: Was I truly ready for an all-male cast? Was this actually going to be genuinely clever and funny, or was it just going to upset the ballet purists?
Boy, was I blown away.
Let’s address the all-male aspect first. In a performance by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (affectionately known as "The Trocks"), every single role on stage is inhabited by a man. But make no mistake: these are not drag queens casually prancing around. These are elite, highly disciplined artists who happen to be wearing tutus, fierce false eyelashes, and blush-pink pumps.
The sheer athletic and technical prowess on display was breathtaking. These dancers flawlessly execute everything from bourrées, échappés, and precise fouetté turns to dizzying pirouettes (both en dedans and en dehors), entrechats, cabrioles, and effortless overhead lifts. Most impressively, their point work (en pointe) was absolutely outstanding—a feat made even more remarkable given the physical differences in male anatomy. During the incredibly insightful post-show Q&A, Artistic Director Tory Dobrin noted that ballet point work is finally being taught to men after so many years. The ease with which these dancers adapt to these demanding classical roles while maintaining total artistic integrity proves that this is 100% professional, world-class ballet.
The first act treated us to Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake, Act II)—familiar territory for me. The Trocks’ version of what is probably the best-known ballet in the world is an elegiac phantasmagoria of variations and ensembles in line and music. Swept up into a magical, hilarious realm of swans (and birds), it is easy to see why this is the company’s signature work. Of course, the moment we were all eagerly anticipating was the famous "Dance of the Little Swans," and it did not disappoint in any shape or form. It was a sheer, uplifting joy to watch.
While the rest of the repertoire featured pieces that were entirely new to me, they were no less entertaining. Drawing inspiration from historical Russian ballets, the performance standard remained sky-high throughout the night.
Then, there is the comedy. The humor starts before the dancing even begins—just take a look at the cast list. It actually took me a moment to realize that the performers' names are brilliant Russian-styled puns until they were read out. Alter-egos like "Maya Thickenthighya" had me laughing before they even took a step!
The cast's impeccable comic timing and deep understanding of musical parody left the Milton Keynes audience in absolute stitches. As the saying goes, you have to be exceptionally good at ballet to play "bad" ballet so convincingly. These artists know the classical rules inside out, which is exactly why they know how to break them so humorously. Crucially, the production allows the choreography room to breathe; the comedy isn't forced into every single second. Instead, it rotates beautifully, allowing you to appreciate the incredible technique before hitting you with a moment that will make you belly laugh.
However, for me, the absolute outstanding scene of the night was The Dying Swan. It was an absolute masterclass in performance, brought to life by cast member Olga Supphozova. Olga made the iconic solo a complete delight, injecting the company's trademark humor while somehow keeping the performance incredibly moving. It takes a truly special dancer to make an audience laugh out loud while simultaneously tugging at their heartstrings, and that delicate balance was captured beautifully
The evening concluded with a thunderous, thoroughly deserved standing ovation. You only have tonight to catch this spectacular show at Milton Keynes Theatre—do not miss it!
The Trocks’ version of what is probably the best-known ballet in the world is an elegiac phantasmagoria of variations and ensembles in line and music. Swept up into the magical realm of swans (and birds), it is the company’s signature work.
- The Trocks at the Boys Club of New York, photo Zoran Jelenic
- The Trocks founders in the 1970s
- The Trocks photo José Luis Marrero Medina
- The Trocks Swan Lake photo Vito Lorusso
- The Trocks, 50th birthday celebrations, photo Zoran Jelenic
- The Trocks, dancer Olga Supphozova, photo Zoran Jelenic
- The Trocks, Dying Swan, photo Roberto Ricci
- The Trocks, Paquita, photo Christopher Duggan, Jacobs Pillow, 2
- The Trocks, Paquita, photo Christopher Duggan, Jacobs Pillow, 3
- The Trocks, Paquita, photo Christopher Duggan, Jacobs Pillow, 4
- The Trocks, Paquita, photo Christopher Duggan, Jacobs Pillow, 5
- The Trocks, Swan Lake trio, photo Giovanni Daniotti
- The Trocks, Swan Lake, photo Vito Lorusso
- The Trocks, The Dying Swan, dancer Olga Supphozova, photo Ralph Arvesen
- The Trocks, Walpurgisnacht, photo Jim Coleman, 2
- The Trocks, Walpurgisnacht, photo Jim Coleman
- The Trocks, Walpurgisnacht, photo Vito Lorusso
- The Trocks, Walpurgisnacht, photo Zoran Jelenic, 2
- Tory Dobrin, Artistic Director, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, photo Zoran Jelenic
Pas de Deux or modern work or solo to be announced Go For Barocco Choreography by Peter Anastos. Music by JS Bach.
Billed as the stylistic heir to Balanchine’s “Middle-Blue-Verging-On-Black-and-White Period,” Go For Barocco has become a primer in identifying stark coolness and choreosymphonic delineation in the new (neo) neo-new classic dance!
Dying Swan
Choreography after Michel Fokine. Music by Camille Saint-Saens.
It’s probably no exaggeration to say that the Trocks’ version of Dying Swan, the solo created for Anna Pavlova in 1905, has become as iconic as the original.
Walpurgisnacht
Choreography by Elena Kunikova after Leonid Lavrovsky. Music by Charles Gounod Inspired by the Bolshoi Ballet’s Valpurgeyeva Noch, the Trocks offer their version of the lavish ballet revelling in its dramatic, supernatural, mythological themes to joyful effect.
14 of the company’s extraordinary dancers, hailing from Spain, Japan, Mexico, Cuba, Italy and the US, will be taking on a kaleidoscope of roles performed by their male danseur and female ballerina alter egos.
The dancers are: Olga Supphozova and Yuri Smirnov (Robert Carter); Varvara Laptopova and Boris Dumbkopf (Takaomi Yoshino); Grunya Protazova & Marat Legupski (Salvador Sasot Sellart); Holly Dey-Abroad and Bruno Backpfeifengesicht (Felix Molinero del Paso); Colette Adae and Timur Legupski (Jake Speakman); Blagovesta Zlotmachinskaya and Mikhail Mudkin (Raydel Caceres); Gerd Törd and Pavel Törd (Matias Dominguez Escrig); Tatiana Youbetyabootskaya and Araf Legupski (Andrea Fabbri); Moussia Shebarkarova and Vyacheslau Legupski (Vincent Brewer); Minnie Van Driver and William Vanilla (Liam Hutt); Maya Thickenthighya and Roland Deaulin (Peter Gwiazda);
Marina Plezegetovstageskaya and Jacques d’Aniels (Antonio Lopez); Vera Vidludik and Nicholas Khachafallenjar (A.J. David); Heidi Kleine and Polykarp Legupski (Harrison Broadbent).
Founded in 1974 in the wake of the Stonewall Riots, The Trocks started life as a late-night act on the makeshift New York stage of an early LGBTQ+ organisation. They have always been trailblazers, and inclusivity, gender fluidity, and body positivity, once subversive and now mainstream, are a given for them.
Tory Dobrin, who joined the company as a dancer in 1980 and became artistic director in 1992, said: “Our tours to the UK are one of the highlights of our calendar. The enthusiasm and expertise of the audiences in Ireland and the UK is unmatched! We are very much looking forward to performing, especially these new works.”
Performances run at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tue 2 – Wed 3 Jun. Tickets are available now by visiting ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes.