Fridae

Les Ballets Trockadero is made up of big muscular guys with thick waists, hairy chests and size-9 feet. They look like they belong in some locker room after a sweaty rugby game - not the pretty surroundings of the Esplanade Theatre.

Yet, here they are in drag - cream-coloured tulle and pointe shoes, to be exact - and dripping with lipstick and mascara.

And as they walk about on tiptoe and execute perfect pirouettes and fouettes with the grace of petite ballerinas, you realise why they are one of the most successful male ballet companies in the world - comic or otherwise.

I mean, whoa, these dudes rock - or, if you will, these dudes Trock! Their balletic finesse is almost enough to make you ignore the staggering bulges under their tutus.

Tory Dobrin, the Trocks' artistic director, says that the company prefers to hire male dancers who "look like men" (read: truck drivers, dock workers and other rough trade types) rather than slender, soft-looking men to dance for the company.

"If I get a male dancer who's more interested in looking like a woman on stage, it won't work well because the audiences have more fun knowing that we're guys," he says.

"Really, we don't think of ourselves as women. Rather, we think of ourselves as male dancers in these costumes doing these steps."

The Trocks - or Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo, as they are officially called - are performing in Singapore for the first time this week, even though it has been something of a cult sensation since the 70s.

The company began life in 1974 in New York's West Village as a low-budget transvestite dance troupe with very little training but a lot of body hair.

"In fact, there's really no particular reason why we're called the Trocks. The creators of the company didn't expect it too last long, so they just came out with the name without too much thought," says Tory.

But while the amount of body hair on the dancers remained constant over the years, the quality and professionalism of the troupe have only gone up and up.

Selecting and training its members rigorously, the Trocks gradually earned the attention and respect of critics and audiences, not just for their witty performances, but also for their dancing abilities.

Still, it could be disconcerting for some audiences to see their favourite ballet characters, such as Odette from Swan Lake or the Dying Swan, displaying such bushy armpits.

Asked if the company orders its dancers not to shave, Tory says: "No, we don't have such a policy.

Some dancers shave their bodies because it's fashionable. But many don't. Personally, I don't want them to shave. I want them to look like men and have all the hair hang out."

Indeed, the Trocks is just another entry in history's thick records of popular drag performers.

From ancient Greek, Shakespearean and kabuki traditions of having men play women, to local drag creations like Kumar and Liang Poh Poh, audiences have always loved a manly man in a dress.

It's small wonder then that the troupe attracts a broad range of audience - from diehard ballet lovers, to unwashed straight men who usually stay well away from dance performances.

Even though the Trocks don't play it straight - often making fun of well-loved ballet classics by adding a few pratfalls, a lot of blunders and many sly glances at the audience - dance lovers still love them. And the company is constantly receiving e-mail and letters from male dancers around the world begging to be auditioned.

The secret of its enduring appeal? "Well, simple really!" says Tory, as if it's a no-brainer. "We're just so much fun."

Ticketing details
The Trocks will perform at the Esplanade Theatre until Saturday at 8pm, with a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday. Tickets at $15, $65, $75, $85 and $95 for evening shows, and $15, $55, $65, $75 and $85 for the matinee from Sistic (tel: 6348-5555).

(On the next page, Fridae cosies up with two cute Trock dancers to find out what life is like behind the scenes.)

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No, we don't sleep with each other

So what goes on behind the scenes of one of the biggest and funniest drag shows in the world? Dishy dancers Fernando Medina-Gallego from Spain and Carlos Garcia from the Philippines dishes out the dirt - well, some dirt, anyway.

æ: For the record, is everyone gay in the Trocks? Are straight men even allowed to join the company?

Carlos: Well, most of us are gay. But there have been straight men in our company before. I know of at least one who's left the company and is now married with children.

Fernando: Yes, it's perfectly possible to be straight in this company. We don't discriminate against straight men. We're very open-minded, you know. (Flutters his eyelashes rapidly)

æ: So what is life like for the Trocks behind the scenes?

Fernando: It's a lot of pain, a lot of hard work. Like the Dying Swan character, we're always about to die. But we're also dying to dance, so we still find the strength to carry on each day.

æ: You're not only dancers, you also drama queens!

Fernando: Correct!

æ: This is an all-male ballet company. So what goes in the dressing rooms? Anything naughty? Do you date each other? Do you check each other out when you're changing?

Fernando: Sigh... it's like being in nudist or naturalist club - you see so much meat that you just don't care anymore.

Carlos: All these boys are my best friends. It would be like dating your brother. That wouldn't work, you know what I mean?

Fernando: But truth to tell, there are a few boys dating each other in the company, including... er... me.

æ: Oh! Oh! Quick, tell! Which one of them are you dating? Is he cute?

Fernando: (whispering) But I cannot tell you my boyfriend's name. The family doesn't know.

æ: So what's it like being a Trock in New York, where you are based? Do you guys have a lot of fans? If you go to a gay bar there and you say, "I dance for the Trocks", do guys want to sleep with you instantly?

Fernando: No, being a Trock doesn't make you instantly popular. Occasionally, a savvy gay man might recognise us. But generally, they ignore us.

The ones who are really big in New York are the Broadway stars. Now, those guys get a lot of attention and flowers and admirers!

Carlos: But we have a large following in Japan. We have some crazed fans - but unfortunately, none of them are men. They are all girls and they would wait for us for hours outside the theatre after the shows. They would give us flowers and presents, and ask us out to dinner.

æ: Surely they know you're gay.

Carlos: Yeah, but they don't care. They just don't care about our sexuality.

æ: That's so open-minded! If only the world was run by Japanese women, then maybe we'd all have great jobs!