Whoever said ballet was a drag?

NB: Yup I know what you're thinking, "this ain't no film blog?" and you're right but ends up at the moment I've been up to a lot of other arty hi-jinx and being made to write about it for class so figured I'd share with the blogosphere (and until i work out how to hybrid this badboy - it's getting papped on here.)

SO, FIRST UP - LADYBOY BALLET!



An unconventional police line-up



Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Forget every preconception you have about traditional ballet before attending Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

Poise, elegance and impossible technical skill: they have it all in abundance but with the addition of sass - and they’ve got plenty of it!

This all-male drag ensemble, co-founded by Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor and Antony Bassae in the meat-packing district of New York in 1974, started as a group producing small, late-night shows, in off- Broadway lofts.  However, it wasn’t long before their reputation and talents led them to the international dance stage.

Affectionately known as the “Trocks”, this unique company is renowned for parodying the conventions and clichés of romantic and classical ballet.

Camp is the new black

The King’s Theatre came abuzz with tittering laughter before the lavishly dolled-up dancers even set oversized point shoe on stage, as an absurd faux-Russian voice-over introduced the amusingly named dancers ‘Ida Nevasayneva’ and ‘Ashley Romanoff-Titwillow’, apologising for the absence of dancer ‘Natalia Notgudinov’.

The show begins with the company’s unique take on Act 2 of Swan Lake, a quite literal adaptation on a classic, which demonstrates as much intensity and skill in their dancing as in the application of their Lily Savage-esque make-up.

The juxtaposition of Princess Odette’s lustrous chest hair and beautifully made up face received roaring laughter upon first glance, yet gender is quickly forgotten as the sheer skill and elegance of the dancer steals focus.   

Putting the faces of woman to shame worldwide *harrumph*

Aside from the stunning performance of the hairy princess swan, the scene stealer of this act, and possibly the
entire show, is undoubtedly the flamboyant over-actor in the Dance of the Little Swans line-up, thrusting said dancer into the spotlight for the rest of the night.

Utterly entertaining and perfectly executed, never before has Tchaikovsky been accompanied by such skilful bitchiness.  

By Act 2, Go for Barocco, the dancers are at their comic peak, attired in little black dresses and switching erratically between movements of fluid intricacy and hilariously macho struts across stage. Tears of laughter flow as the notably tall and built lead dancers of this act, clearly revving off the reaction, give their all pirouetting their flamboyant hearts out.

That's easy for her/him to do

Their last of the three pastiche performances is The Reception scene from L. Pashkova baffling, Raymonda’s Wedding. Providing more than a few laughs is the preposterous paired duo of little and large (imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in ‘Twins’, with Arnie in a dress) technical skill and razor-sharp comic timing was once again expertly executed.

(yeah i googled "Arnie in drag", n whit?) Now imagine this dancing in lycra...

Everything about the performance exudes classical training and power, but with a human edge often lacking in classical ballet. The neat, slick packaging of three concise yet energetic separate acts flew in and with a final burst of Riverdance as the finale, the crowd expressed their appreciation with a standing ovation.

Totally accessible for newcomers to this genre of dance, the marriage of humour and skill proves overwhelmingly that the Trocks are definitely much more than just men in tights. ..

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returns to Scotland on 12/13 April 2011, Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

Killer Queens

When drag goes bad

Tonight's blog is not about blood-thirsty monarchs, but the other type of queen - draaaaaaaaag, darling.

Twas just yesterday I was visiting my friend's fashion blog (FOURTY FOUR SUNSETS - check it out!) and came across a photo of James Franco kitted out in his finest female clobber, complete with more eye-shadow than Pat Butcher at Christmas and more lipstick and lashes that Girls Aloud combined (so roughly a metric tonne).

The result is quite shocking.

He simultaneously looks pretty and masculine, and altogether quite bizarre. I choose "bizarre" as I can't quite make up my mind about this: on one hand he is undoubtedly a tarted up man, but on the other he most definitely has more striking features than most of the beasts spotted roaming Paisley on a Saturday night.

And even though I can't shake the idea that he looks like a Muppet version of Barbara Streisand - something about the eyes - I think the main thing to take away from this is that he owns it. Now I don't know if he has done this shoot to reflect his committment to the role or to display his diversity as an actor (coz let's face it no-one got "diverse" from Spider-Man).

But as Tyra Banks would say, it is FIERCE!


This got me to thinking about other men in film that make beautiful women.

Without doubt the first that sprang to mind was Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. Most renowned for Che Guevara biopic The Motorcycle Diaries and sex-fuelled-teen-exploration Y Tu Mama Tambien, it's his role in Pedro Almodóvar's Bad Education that shows him in a more feminine light.

Front runner for the remake of Pretty Woman

I say more feminine - i mean raging queen. This story of murder, betrayal, catholicism and transexuality allows Bernal to play both male and female roles, powerfully conveying various perspectives and sexual ideologies.

And by god, does he make one pretty woman. In fact, if they were to remake "Pretty Woman" I genuinely think he'd be in with a shout. Sorry Julia, there's a new girl in town...


Queens that didn't make the cut:
- Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot
- Roger Taylor in Queen's I Want To Break Free


I'm signing off with another two examples of actors who have donned frocks and slap for their art (and let's face it - just to prove that they can pull it off)
The clues are in the captions - answers on a postcard!

Not being Cilli-an, but she is one hot mama!

Hey Jude! I thought you were a dude...