Dance Review

Performance by Les Ballets Truckadero de Monte Carlo - Tel Aviv Opera House

I had high expectations of this company.  Expectations which were, sadly, unmet.  Les Ballets Truckadero de Monte Carlo is a ballet company made up exclusively men, the catch is that they all dance and dress up as women - in full costumes and make up (but with chest and armpit hair).  I expected mostly dance and a little humor; what I saw was mostly humor and a little dance.  The majority of the performance seemed to be about making fun of ballet.  Most of the time, I felt like the dancers were trying too hard to be funny.  Even as someone who doesn’t particularly like ballet, I found myself craving technique and cringing at all the slapstick.  I felt that the entire performance was way too long (two and a half hours) and was, frankly, not very funny and not very well danced.  They simply tried too hard.  I believe what I saw in this performance can be applied to teaching - driving home your point can be counter-productive, because rather than gravitating towards it, your students will resist it.  I didn’t like being told throughout the piece, “this is funny - you should be laughing.” It wasn’t funny and I wasn’t laughing.  Don’t get me wrong, some moments were hysterical - at one point, four dancers ran out onstage and took their starting positions.  After a minute, one of them started very slowly moving his feet, and it was at that moment that I realized he was facing the wrong way and was trying to correct it.  That was hilarious for me, because I could relate to that moment of panic when one is onstage and in the middle of a mistake that he or she is painfully aware of.  That said, I felt that the piece was not a success.  I felt that it tried too hard and I have no interest in seeing this company again.