Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

9 months ago, when I attended my first ballet, a couple of images popped into my head from Trockadero, the all-male cross-dressing ballet troupe. A few Fridays ago, as I was lugging my bags back to my apartment through the London underground, I saw an ad for their show. I had reservations as to whether they could sustain the performance over 2 hours (many other acts that I've seen clips of have let me down as they could not keep it going for a full length show.) Let me say right off, I was not disappointed by them in the slightest!!
They were the perfect combination of great technique and comedy. Their comedic performances were so funny that I was left with tears streaming down my face. Their famous pas de quatre from Swan Lake and Saint Saens' Dying Swan pieces were even more hysterical live. During ballet corps dances one person would be out of time or out of place and go scurrying across the stage in a mad panic. In other dances, they combined the largest guy playing the female role with the smallest one playing the male role. They alternated the camp with serious technical performances. Their pointe work was far superior to the ballerinas in the English National Ballet.
In my tradition of over-analysing everything, I have a theory as to why they are so good. They are able to inject humour into the performance as people do not expect cross-dressing ballet dancers to be completely serious. However, as classically trained dancers they are also superior than women in women's roles as they are stronger and (mostly) light enough to maintain their form en pointe. The only thing that shows them up is when they perform solos in male roles. This is when they are at their weakest as they are most likely weaker male dancers who, through being too short, too tall or not powerful enough, ended up in this troupe.
Overall, it was fantastic and I recommend it as a must-see if it ever comes to your city.