What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1212663
FEBRUARY 23-29, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 9 Boys At The Barre JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette I like to play coquette a little — a really kind of subtle energy, not so in-your-face. She's the ballerina that you're not immediately staring at, but as soon as you find her, you can't take your eyes off of her," shares Duane Gosa. Gosa is a dancer with Les Ballets Trockaderos de Monte Carlo. He and the rest of the all-male ballet company perform traditional ballets, which means the men are dancing all the parts — with the tutus, pointe shoes, glamorous stage makeup and plenty of drama to round out the spectacle. "Don't get it twisted, we are doing the full steps. We are doing actual choreography of 'Swan Lake' and 'Paquita' and 'Pas de Quatre,'" Gosa assures. "You're going to see the exact thing that you would see American Ballet Theatre do. Just, it'll be a little more lighthearted, a little more fun." "A little" may be an understatement. The Sunday Times in the UK calls The Trocks "the funniest night you will ever have at the ballet." Australia's Sydney Star Observer says, "The Trocks are a guaranteed hoot for people who know nothing of ballet and an absolute must for those who think they know the originals." And Neil Norman with The Express in London called the troupe "… one of the greatest acts on the planet." "The company has been around for 40-plus years, so it's got some history to it and a lot of integrity behind the work," Gosa shares. "It's not just something flashy or cheap; there's a lot that's gone into making the company what it is." And what the company is has never changed since its founding in 1974, reveals Ballet Master Raffaele Morra. Established by a group of ballet enthusiasts, Les Ballets Trockaderos was conceived as a place to celebrate and parody the art form. More than four decades later, the troupe is a place where the dancers can express themselves in roles with which they actually identify, while calling out some of the foibles and underlying incongruities inherent in ballet's roots. "Ballet is very codified," Morra muses. "At Trock, we destroy certain rules and make our own. We do the classical ballet, but we also bring back a little bit of the spirit of when ballet was created — the excitement; the original interest that every ballet had when they were first [conceived]." Morra was a dancer with the Trocks from 2001 until retiring from the stage in 2018 to shift to ballet master full time. It is a natural transition, Morra says, as the body reaches a certain age, but Morra had no idea when he joined the all-male company that it would end up being the troupe he stayed with even after leaving the stage. Prior to joining the Trocks, Morra was a contemporary ballet dancer in Italy, and he recalls seeing "a lot of faces in front of me who didn't understand the choreography. When I watched a performance [of the Trockaderos], they had a wonderful connection with the audience. There was a dialogue going on that was not something I had experienced before in my career." The audiences were in awe, Morra recalls of his early viewings, and early performances, with the company. Many still are to this day as the men perform en pointe flawlessly — and then, sometimes, not so flawlessly. "The male roles of ballet, it's kind of a one-note thing — the man is usually just very strong and the prince and cavalier. He kind of plays only one character," Gosa explains. "So we would play the joke that maybe he's not the brightest. He isn't quite paying attention as much, or he's not picking up on what the ballerina is desperately trying get across. You've got so much emotion and drama that's happening, and the guy's just kind of like, 'Uhhhhhh,' you know? "It's funny because I think about this idea of this big, macho character playing the male in ballet," Gosa adds, reflecting. "I've been playing the role of Prince Siegfried in 'Swan Lake' for the past couple of years, but I have learned to play this masculine, macho male character in a different way, so I've kind of found my own spin on it. "I really exaggerate the character, and I play it in a way that makes fun of that [machismo]. But I also still have on three pairs of lashes stacked, and a big coiffed wig. So it's a really pretty man, you know what I mean? It's playing this masculine role to an extreme, in a different way — like, a man can be pretty, and that's fine, it's normal, it's OK." Trockaderos show off craft, comedy "If you like ballet, it's going to be for you," assures Raffaele Morra, ballet master with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The all- male ballet company brings their family- friendly show to the Walton Arts Center on Feb. 27. "If you don't like ballet, it's still a show for you because we are not laughing at ballet, but you certainly can laugh at ballet with us. Don't be afraid — you are going to be very happy." (Courtesy Photo/ Sascha Vaughan) Gosa (Courtesy Photos/Zoran Jelenic) FAQ Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo WHEN — 7 p.m. Feb. 27 WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville COST — $15-$36 INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org, trockadero.org FAYETTEVILLE Morra