2:00 pm | $12/$10 members/$6 children | Documentary | 1h 30m
Ballet Will Never Be the Same After You See This
Stereotypes of gender, sexuality, and artistic norms get spun on their on their heads, Sunday, January 14 at 2 PM at Rosendale Theatre with the Dance Film Sunday screening of Rebels on Pointe, a documentary film about the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the riotous all-male comic ballet troupe. The 90-minute film was directed by award-winning Montreal filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart and produced in collaboration with Robbie Hart and distributed by Icarus Films.
Exploring universal themes of identity, dreams, and family, Rebels on Pointe celebrates the legendary dance troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The notorious all-male drag ballet company, commonly known as “The Trocks,” was founded in 1974 in New York City on the heels of the Stonewall riots and has since developed a passionate cult following around the world. The film juxtaposes intimate behind-the-scenes access, rich archives and history, engaging character driven stories, and dance performances shot in North America, Europe, and Japan. Rebels on Pointe is a creative blend of gender-bending artistic expression, diversity, passion, and purpose which proves that a ballerina can be an act of revolution…in a tutu.
The scenes of their performances are laugh out-loud funny, and ample footage of the Trocks on stage is shown, but the dancers’ impressive technique is always evident. With personal histories impacted by the AIDS crisis and eventual growth of the LGBT civil rights movement, the film’s main characters share powerful and inspiring anecdotes about growing up gay, their relationships with their families and their challenges in becoming ballerinas. Montreal Gazette called the documentary “An affectionate tribute to a dance company that dares to defy convention.”
Dance Film Sundays, produced by Edward Schoelwer, is a series which started in June 2010 under the auspices of the Rosendale Theatre Collective. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of every month at Rosendale Theatre.