Trevino’s Triumphant Tutu’s and Tights

It may well be a coincidence that Victor Borge and Victor Trevino share the same first name. Both have been innovators in their fields, the former with classical music, the latter with classical and contemporary dance. Its a nice bit of symbolism that the name Victor means one who conquers because both men have conquered their respective fields and also had a passion for making these fields of expertise, which might seem highbrow and only for the elite, accessible to all. Just as Victor Borge had fun with classical music demystifying it so too does Victor Trevino do the same, with both classical and contemporary dance.

I spoke to the delightful Victor Trevino from New York prior to embarking on a mammoth 23 week tour of Australia and New Zealand. The tour begins in March until July, taking in regional areas in Australia before moving on to New Zealand on their mission to demystify the world of dance.

Victor’s surname of Trevino is of Spanish origin and interesting too, as it translates as ‘where boundaries meet’ or ‘a border’, a very apt name because Victor is trying to break down those boundaries that exist between the average person and an appreciation of dance. Indeed the ballet will blur more than one boundary with the cast made up entirely of male dancers who will perform both the male and female roles. Some of the males will be the comedic and others completely elegant looking ‘females’.

Victor is looking forward to returning to Tasmania (he brought his previous troupe and production ‘Men in Tutus’ here before) and he’s also looking forward to a return to The Theatre Royal which he calls ‘exceptional’. Indeed he is disappointed that on the last visit to Tasmania with his show ‘Men in Tutus’ he did not get a chance to see much of the state, having arrived late at night, doing the performance and then having to move on to the next venue. He does remember driving through beautiful scenery and observing the mountain which he is keen to tour.

I ask Victor how this production ‘Men in Pink Tights’ will differ from ‘Men in Tutus’. He says it is a very similar production but with a continually changing cast displaying different talents, it means new jokes are added and costumes changed. Some of the cast are pre-eminently focusing on dance while others display a comic talent which Victor showcases.

The show parodies ballet and perhaps the machinations that go on behind the scenes. We imagine a world of prima donnas with ambition and Victor’s show attempts to show the humorous side to this with dances having petty fits of jealousy and a lot of physical comedy.

Victor hopes that those that attended the show last time will decide to come again and perhaps encourage someone else to come along.

The aim is that people who might not normally attend ballet will become familiar with the stories and decide to give a serious ballet performance a go.

I ask Victor if any one has ever been disappointed after seeing his production with it’s additional comedy and then a serious ballet. Have they wondered where all the humour has disappeared to? Victor says this has happened and where people have said to him they like his ballet better but ever the diplomat he will not divulge what other ballets and companies they went to see!

Victor adds the favourite ballet to parody has to be Swan Lake because of the implausibility of the story of young damsels sitting around by a lake waiting for their beloved to come for them as they transform from beautiful girls to elegant water bird.

But perhaps Victor says it best when he says ballet is ‘music for your eyes’ and it breaks down even more barriers, for example the fact he can take the same production to China and the visuals tell the whole story.

The lovely Victor and his troupe will be performing at the Princess Theatre on 27th April and at the Theatre Royal on 28th April.
Paula Xiberras