MEN IN PINK TIGHTS
When: April 14
Where: Palais Theatre, St Kilda
Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au
Preview: Angela Allan
FALSE eyelashes, glitter, pink tutus and Swarovski crystals are staples for a ballet, but put male-only ballet company Les Ballets Eloelle into the equation and there could be more than a few wardrobe malfunctions.
The company’s artistic director and lead dancer, Victor Trevino, has had his share of tutu dramas while working on the latest production, Men In Pink Tights, which will have its world premiere in Australia.
“We travel with a wardrobe person who keeps all the costumes in place, so we can look our best,” says Trevino. “It takes more to make us pretty than it does girls. I’ve worn false eyelashes for so long, but I actually went on stage once without them on and I was like, ‘something is wrong’ and then I realised.”
Men In Pink Tights effortlessly blends brilliant ballet classics, such as Swan Lake and Don Quixote, with comedy. The male dancers are dressed in lavish costumes, dazzling make-up and pointe shoes.
“The pointe shoes are the hardest to get used to. It takes a lot to work out how to dance on your toes and learning how to control yourself when you’re dancing on the tip of your toes,’’ says Trevino. ‘‘A lot of the time if you’re spinning, one wrong move and you feel like you’re gonna go flying off into space or fall on your head.”
The idea of men dancing in tutus is the brainchild of Larry Ray, a former costumier of the American Ballet Theatre who created a ballet that was performed only in downtown Manhattan in the late 1970s.
“My initial goal was to explore different pieces and try comedy in different ways,’’ Trevino says. ‘‘There’s so much happening in dance – not just the classics – that I wanted to work with.
“When we started, there was more of a concern about what we were doing. Now some of our biggest fans are dancers. They come and they know about the hard work and they appreciate what we do. We’re not just making fun of it, we are actually doing the ballet routine.”
