June 4 - July 2, 2021

American Masters Presents Ballerina Boys, a New Documentary on the Pioneering All-Male Comic Ballet Company The Trocks

   Trocks performing "Swan Lake." Kevin Garcia (center) Courtesy Merrywidow Films LLC Photographer credit: Laura Nespola

American Masters Presents Ballerina Boys, a New Documentary on the Pioneering All-Male Comic Ballet Company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Premieres Friday, June 4 on PBS in honor of Pride Month


Availability:

American Masters—Ballerina Boys premieres nationwide Friday, June 4 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS Video app in honor of Pride Month.

Synopsis:
American Masters—Ballerina Boys is a portrait of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (“The Trocks”), an all-male ballet company and international dance sensation. For over 45 years the company has shared their signature style and message of equality, inclusion and social justice with audiences around the world. The men perform classical ballet en pointe and in drag, challenging the art form’s rigid gender norms as they mix rigorous technique with comedy and satire. Inspired by the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the company was fueled by the spirit of defiance and creative exuberance that the gay rights movement unleashed. The film follows The Trocks on tour in the Carolinas, an epicenter of continued struggles for LGBTQ rights. American Masters—Ballerina Boys interweaves original interviews and contemporary and archival performance footage to tell the remarkable history of the company and culminates with The Trocks’ 2019 performance at the Stonewall 50th anniversary concert at Central Park’s SummerStage in New York City. In the words of ballerina Kevin Garcia, “Every time the curtain opens we represent progress for equality. We just do it dancing.”

previous listing  •  next listing

A dancer in a black tutu and leotard and pointe shoes stands on one leg, with the other leg extended behind the body in a straight line. One arm is raised above the head and the other extended to the back parallel to the extended leg. The school director is opposite the dancer and wears a red DTH logo t-shirt and black pants and ballet slippers. She holds the hand of the arm raised above the dancer’s head with one arm and her back arm is extended and she is smiling at the student.

 

Find More Dance Events
 

A dancer in a black tutu and leotard and pointe shoes stands on one leg, with the other leg extended behind the body in a straight line. One arm is raised above the head and the other extended to the back parallel to the extended leg. The school director is opposite the dancer and wears a red DTH logo t-shirt and black pants and ballet slippers. She holds the hand of the arm raised above the dancer’s head with one arm and her back arm is extended and she is smiling at the student.

Sign up for Dance/NYC News