40 Years (and Counting), the Trocks Continue to Delight

EDGE: What do you do as the artistic director?

Tory Dobrin: The artistic director of any organization sets the tone. In my specific case, we're a small organization and when you're a small organization it's best not to have a lot of fascistic tendencies. The people in upper management, we talk about everything. I guess ultimately I make the decision, but I'm pretty sensible. The artistic director sets the tone and hires and fires the dancers. I don't push my weight around. In my 40 years doing this I think I've fired three people. I choose the ballets, work with the executive director to organize the tours, talk to the production manager about the look of the show. Much of this I do in conjunction with the ballet master, who was also a long-time member of the company as a dancer.

EDGE: You started out with the Trocks as a dancer. Did you ever envision, 40 years later, you would be here?

Tory Dobrin: Not at all. Sometimes late at night, when I'm lying there, I think, "How did this happen?" And I'm fine with it. I've had a good time. Would you do anything differently? I don't normally think like that, but if I would think like that I don't know what it would be. I've spent a lot of time on the road. I've been in all of those 600 cities. Looking back now, I think, "How did I survive that?" When I'm walking on the street of New York and I see a tour bus go by, I have that feeling, "Oh, no." The idea of going to an airport now just makes me nuts.

EDGE: In your upcoming program you have two options. How do I decide which one to see?

Tory Dobrin: We go to the Joyce every two years, and they always want two programs because we're there for three weeks. One of the programs has only one intermission at their request, and the other one is a bit longer and has two intermissions.

The first program (A) includes Giselle Act II, which is a very interesting ballet that we've done for a long time. The set is by Edward Gorey, and it's done in a very macabre way. It's not light-hearted, necessarily, because it's an intense story. But it's very funny. The ballet closing that evening is a new work called Symphony, which is based on a George Balanchine ballet called Symphony. It's actually a premiere, so people who come to see us every two years would be more interested in this because they haven't seen it yet, but probably have seen Swan Lake.

The second program (B) has Swan Lake Act II, Yes, Virginia, Another Piano Ballet, and, after the second intermission, concludes with Raymonda's Wedding. It has more variety, it's longer, and a little bit more fun. I guess it really depends on how familiar you are with the company.

EDGE: And it's only done every other year?

Tory Dobrin: It's become a tradition around the holidays. It's perfect for people who want to see dance but don't want to see The Nutcracker. It works well for us. I'm a little protective. We don't want to overexpose ourselves to New York. Every two years for three weeks seems like a good rhythm.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performs through January 5, 2025 at The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Avenue at West 19th Street, New York City. For ticket information, follow this link.

For upcoming performance dates for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, visit their website.

Watch Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo company member Ida Nevasayneva (Paul Ghiselin) perform "The Dying Swan"