Male ballet dancers are not restricted to tights. Men in Tutus is an all male comedy ballet by Les Ballets Grandiva, one of a handful of male ballet companies in the world.
The lead dancer and director of the production, Victor Trevino is also founder of the ballet company, havingleft the original all male ballet company, the "Trocks", which rose to international acclaim with drag dancers parodying Russia's ballerinas. At 150 centimetres and weighing less than 50 kilograms, Trevino has been dancing en pointe for 20 years. Each year, by the end of the company's three-month tour of Japan he loses his toenails.
Trevino said he wanted to offer a more subtle approach to male ballet and a repertoire that included more contemporary ballets.
"I was an opinionated little guy. I wanted to do new ballets; I wanted to have more freedom. I thought because we are comedy, the genre should move in the direction of focusing on the personalities of people. You gravitate towards the personality, the divas, and that is what I wanted to concentrate on."
Trevino was also lead dancer in the original production of Men in Tutus which toured New Zealand in 2007. The company has 20 male dancers drawn from 13 countries.
Trevino says anyone with an appreciation for dance, comedy and fun will love Men In Tutus.
