No ordinary dance ensemble
THIS IS not your regular dance ensemble. This is a company made up of men. In tutus. And in roles normally reserved for women.
Which makes their work more difficult, but also fun because audiences cannot help but laugh at their outlandish acts; sometimes clumsy pirouettes and affectionate parodies of traditional classic roles.
But you’ll also see men in male roles, as they partner the “ballerinas” garbed in tutus and tiaras. Men in
Tutus artistic director and lead dancer Victor Hugo Trevino founded the company in 1996.
Trevino said: “There is this mystique that dance is too difficult to understand and is only for audiences who have a deep knowledge of culture and art.
“We hope to change that misconception using comedy as a means to expose audiences to the magic of dance.
“Those who love ballet will certainly see the choreography and skill of the dancers that’s expected in a traditional ballet.
He said it’s not only the individual proficiency of the dancers that is impressive.
“Learning to work as partners is another challenge. Dancers in any traditional ballet company will appreciate the difficulties here, but when men partner men, there are several adjustments to make.”
Trevino said that since the company goes back so many years, attitudes have changed towards pigeon-holing sexuality.
“For people to see men as women is far less of a phenomenon now, so we have to focus on the technical aspects and offer a show that is maybe technically stronger and exposes audiences to interesting characters.”
With an ensemble from all over the world, he said he has many loyal dancers some of whom have been with him since 2003.
Dancers come from the US (where the company is based), Spain, Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines, Australia, Colombia, the Isle of Wight and Japan.
The show will feature a Pas de Quatre, Pas de Deux, Le Corsaire; A parody of George Balanchine’s choreography; Go for Barocco and Swan Lake. ■ is at the Artscape Opera in Cape Town from Thursday to Sunday. Bookings through Computicket.