Breaking the Boundaries of Ballet
April 30, 2025
The Parker | BrowardCenter.org
By Amanda Bogle, Nova Southeastern University
On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 8 p.m., audiences at The Parker will get the chance to experience a show like no other: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. They are a world renowned, all male pointe ballet company who will take the stage to combine the classical techniques of traditional ballets with entertaining parodies and comedy. The company has spent the last 50 years perfecting the art of comedic timing and challenging the strict traditions of ballet dancing for the entertainment of audiences all over the world.
For senior dancer Robert (Bobby) Carter, this upcoming performance will be another step in his three-decade journey with the ballet company. His story with the “Trocks”, as they are more informally known, all started with a desire that is typically considered unusual for male dancers to pursue, in fact, most would never think of trying—dancing on pointe shoes.
“I was immediately obsessed with pointe shoes for some reason,” Carter said. “I finally got my hands on a pair that I begged off of some girls who were a little older than me. I squirreled them away and would play around in an empty studio until I got caught one day by my dance teacher.”
Instead of reprimanding him and discouraging his desire to dance on pointe, Carter’s dance teacher instead did something quite admirable. He encouraged his curiosity and even placed him in a pointe class.
“In any other situation, I probably would have been scolded and reamed out for it,” Carter said. “But I think because I was so young, my dance teacher wanted to not damage my perception and encourage me rather than discourage me.”
Having a positive experience like that inspired Carter to seek out the Trocks, which he would someday get to be a part of.
“But I got the chance to see the company when I was a little older. And I was just stricken with the fact that here’s a group of guys that do what I eventually wanted to do.”
The Trocks have given him an opportunity that he may never have found in a traditional ballet setting.
“I have had an artistic freedom that I don’t believe I would ever have gotten in another ballet company,” he said.
Redefining the Gender Norms in Ballet
Ballet has historically been a binary art form, with its very strict gender roles, which normally dictate the movement, technique, and costuming of the dancers. Traditionally, the male dancers support the female “leads”. The male’s job is usually to showcase their strength, while highlighting the female’s delicacy and poise. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo turns this concept upside-down and shows how art transcends gender.
Like Carter, some of the company’s dancers had early training in pointe dancing, but others had to learn the style and technique later in their careers.
“When I joined, there were a few older dancers who had not necessarily focused on pointe,” Carter said. “It was more of a learn-as-you-go kind of thing on the job. But, over time, we began to see more guys coming in that were already comfortable dancing on pointe, which made it a lot easier for us to transition into more technically demanding work.”
This change has influenced a new generation of male dancers and the audiences who watch the shows. While there was a time when a boy dancing on pointe might have been a rarity or even perceived as a problem or “incorrect”, thanks to the Trocks, a new narrative exists. They have played a significant role in helping to normalize pointe for male dancers and showing kids who might share Carter’s dream that it is, in fact, attainable.
“I think, just in general, people’s ideas towards the LGBTQIA+ community and nontraditional roles in dance are changing,” Carter noted. “The fact is, we’ve always been here. Ballet is quite binary. It’s all good, evil, black, white, or whatever, you know, if you want to use the comparison. I think we’ve helped to just broaden minds, and that transcends societal labels. Art comes from any and all souls.”
What the Audience Can Expect
Audiences at The Parker can expect an evening of talented dancing and exceptional ballet technique, infused humor and theatrics.
“We are, first and foremost, a dance company,” Carter said. “However, we come at our work through the lens of humor, parodying the old Russian ballet style.”
Their performance is for everyone, whether someone has seen a hundred traditional ballets, or this is one’s very first show, audience members will leave with a new appreciation for the art.
“We’re a good introduction for people who don’t know much about ballet,” he said. “We cater to a wide swath of demographics because the one universal thing that ties us all together is that everyone loves humor.”
In addition to their comedic elements, the Trocks remain dedicated to classical technique throughout their choreography for each show.
“A lot of the choreography we do on stage is the same as what you’d see in any major ballet company,” Carter said. “Sometimes the jokes are choreographed ahead of time, or sometimes they’re added afterwards. Generally, it’s the latter, we learn choreography and the humor comes afterwards.”
More Than Just a Show
Although Carter finds the show’s break from conventional gender roles impactful, he is most touched by the diversity of people in the audience.
“We don’t know what’s going on in everyone’s daily lives. And we fill audiences with hundreds and thousands of people over the course of so many years. And we never know in that audience that might be packed to the brim, how many people might have lost a loved one, promotion at work, or it’s their birthday or some event is happening for them,” he said. “But they have those two hours to sit in the theater and watch our show. And so, in a lot of ways, we’re therapeutic for people. We give them those couple of hours to kind of get away from their troubles and laugh and be carefree. And so, if anything that would be my personal message—that I just want people to relax and enjoy the show for that little bit of time.”
With a legacy spanning half a century, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo continues to push boundaries and redefine modern ballet. For those lucky enough to attend the April 30, 2025 performance at The Parker, the Trocks promise an evening of sheer talent, laughter, and inspiration.
Amanda Bogle is a student reporter in Nova Southeastern University’s feature writing course taught by Dr. Megan Fitzgerald in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.
