Video Librarian sat down with directors Chana Gazit and Martie Barylick to discuss their new documentary, Ballerina Boys, about Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. For over 45 years, the troupe also known as The Trocks is an all-male company that subverts gender norms by performing ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy.
Ballerina Boys is currently playing on PBS's American Masters and will be available on EDU DVD starting July 6th from Passion River.
What makes this documentary different from previous films you have worked on?
For Chana, the opportunity to interweave contemporary cinema verite footage with a historical story was very appealing. This was the first time she tackled a subject about art and culture
What was the collaboration like with PBS?
The collaboration with the wonderful PBS series “American Masters” was smooth and supportive. We were genuinely surprised when PBS chose to use the film for its August pledge drive, thereby extending the audience reach.
How were you exposed to Le Ballet Trockaderos De Monte Carlo?
Martie has followed the Trocks for 20 years. She took Chana to see them on New Year’s Eve 2014. For Chana, it was love at first sight.
How do you see Les Ballet Trockaderos De Monte Carlo changing the LGBTQ community?
The Trocks work to increase the world’s store of empathy. Comedy is about understanding common fallibility. Falling, being the single person to mistakenly go left when everyone else has gone right, getting nauseous as you turn ten times—these are all common human experiences (especially for the huge percentage of females who have studied ballet!) As their Japanese promoter, Nobu Kamamoto explains: "The best way for people to appreciate any culture is to understand how they work on their art."
What makes Ballerina Boys different from other dance documentaries?‘
We had the specific intent to tell the Trocks’ historical backstory, to come straight out about the group’s gayness, to talk shop about ballet, and to get audiences to fall in love with the three contemporary dancers. (Our Twitter feed indicates that we succeeded at THAT!)
What was it like going backstage and seeing the dancers prepare for a performance?
We’re so grateful to the dancers for welcoming us and our cameras into the very intimate spaces that constitute backstage. For Chana, it was the first time she was exposed to the life of a touring company. Going on the road with the company was an eye-opener—to see what it takes for the company to put on a show in a different city every night, and to witness how hard the dancers work to maintain their level of artistry. When the curtain opens in the evening, it comes after a long day of class and rehearsal. Their commitment to their art is remarkable.
The documentary consists of archival footage and interviews with former performers. What was the research process like?
We were very lucky that Tory Dobrin, the Trocks Artistic Director, and Eugene McDoubgle, the Trocks’ former general manager, accumulated decades of archives and gave them to the New York Public Library.
Linda Murray of the Dance Collection put them at our disposal, and Liz Harler, the Trocks current General Manager, did very important sleuthing in her own archives and her own memories.
What should audiences take away after watching Ballerina Boys?
As Peter Anastos says, (I’m paraphrasing here): "We were, for so many in the audience, the first gay people they had seen. They left with the impression that gay people don’t bite. We did our show and went home and watched television. Also, audiences should have increased respect for the craft of ballet, as Albie carefully explains what it’s like to work on pointe and to create a character. The Trocks’ success at beautiful dancing, a re-creation of ballerinas of the past, and acute parody should make everyone want to go to the ballet. Any ballet."
Why should this documentary be added to audiences’ collections - particularly for libraries and schools?
Here is what Susan Bellows, a senior producer at “American Experience,” wrote: "I found it a life-affirming story, about so much more than just challenging gender assumptions in ballet, and really appreciated it as a look at the ways in which art can advance new ideas, open doors, and remind us of our shared humanity."
Further, as a teacher of graduate-school dance students, watching and discussing Ballerina Boys will give the mostly female dancers important insights into their mostly-gay male classmates and dance partners. Further, college-age students are more and more coming out as non-binary, as “they.” I think the simple and radical acceptance of oneself and one’s choices that fill the film is very important.