52 | NOVEMBER 14 • 2024 
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t’s been 50 years since Les Ballets 
Trockadero de Monte Carlo took 
to the stage and began touring 
their performances. Appearances have 
reached from New York to across the 
United States and into international 
locales. 
The professional dancers, with a 
comical mix, feature about 12 men 
costumed as ballerinas, and they are 
returning to Detroit Nov. 23-24 to 
entertain audiences at the Detroit 
Opera House. Routines include scenes 
from Swan Lake and Paquita, with 
parodies along the way.
The ensemble gives between 100 
and 125 performances a year, and the 
group has appeared in Detroit, Ann 

Arbor, Kalamazoo and Flint.
Tory Dobrin, artistic director, start-
ed with the group as a dancer and 
began management responsibilities 
after an injury. His entry into the 
world of dance began in 
his teen years, when a 
California earthquake hit 
his high school. Newly 
assigned to a building 
shared by two schools in 
response to the devasta-
tion, he fulfilled physical 
fitness requirements through dance.
“The people who dance for the 
Trocks tend to be comedians and 
funny guys, so this is a place they can 
express that,
” said Dobrin, who has 

danced with the Dallas Ballet, the 
Radio City Music Hall Ballet and the 
New Jersey Ballet. “We try to harness 
their creativity so there’s a lot of fun 
and individual energy on stage.
” 
Dobrin said he finds it interesting 
that people have started bringing 
children into the audiences, saying 
he believes society has changed. He 
thinks Trocks programming is a good 
introduction to ballet, to dance and 
to getting young kids in the theater 
because it’s fun and high quality.
“I want the audiences to come 
expecting to enjoy themselves, and I’m 
hoping they will see how professional 
and technically brilliant the dancers 
are,
” the director said.

The start of the Trocks danc-
ers began with the 1969 Stonewall 
Uprising, which promoted interests of 
the LGBTQ community. Dobrin wants 
audiences to think of the quality of the 
dancing and the humor as they watch 
the show.
In Detroit, the program is divided 
into three acts. 
“It’s one of our best programs, and 
it’s full of different kinds of ballets, 
different kinds of costuming, different 
kinds of music and different personali-
ties,
” Dobrin said.
Dobrin, raised in a Jewish family, 
was attracted to Trocks because of the 
level of dancing and level of comedy. 
Early on, he was taught dance at the 

ARTS&LIFE
DANCE

 A 
 Differen 
 Dance Twist
 Dance Twist

Tory Dobrin

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Les Ballets Trockadero will blend humor and professionalism at the Opera House. 

PHOTOS COURTESY LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO

A portrait of the 
company from a Les 
Ballets Trockadero 
de Monte Carlo 
performance

