Look What I Caught!
Did you miss me? I was gone from the internet for 24 hours. Went fishing for life. And look what I caught!
Some friends and I went on an excursion to see Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all male dance troupe that parodies classical ballet. The men, of course, played the women’s parts, too, and it was amusing seeing hairy chests rising above the costumes. The Trocks stumbled at inopportune times, tried to upstage one another, and played up every romantic ballet cliché. Adding to the fun, the performers sported evocative names such as Innokenti Smoktumuchsky, Maya Thickenthighya, and Jacques d’Aniels.
As funny as the performance was, the real treat came in seeing how athletic, graceful, and truly accomplished these men are. The simplest thing they did is beyond most of us. You try standing on tiptoe on one foot, the other foot poised delicately behind with the toe barely skimming the ground, and arms rounded above your head. And do this for many seconds at a time without wobbling. Yeah, right.
A special joy for me was sitting between two accomplished dancers who pointed out any feats or bits of humor that a neophyte such as I might have missed.
More than anything, though, I enjoyed the company of the people I went with. During lunch, they suggested I write a book centered around a dance studio. They all volunteered to be characters in the book, and one lovely woman offered herself up as a victim, though why anyone would want to off her is beyond my imaginings. Interestingly, the would-be-victim’s husband is a criminologist, and she also offered his expertise if I needed help keeping the investigation accurate, which is tempting indeed.
Who knows, I might even follow through on the book someday.
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Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.” Follow Pat on Google+. Like Pat on Facebook.
Tagged: all male dance troupe, ballet parody, fishing for life, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
