An image of white costumes hanging from a rack, with a ballerina visible in costume in the background.
Beyond the Stage / Artist Spotlights

Photo Gallery: A Day in the Life of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Take a peek at breathtaking drag transformations, costuming, rehearsals, and more!
February 13, 2024

Capturing the embodied beauty, precision, dedication, and pure joy of the Trocks.

Photos by Brittany Hosea-Small

On Saturday, January 27 and Sunday, January 28, 2024, the world-renowned and Berkeley-beloved Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returned to Cal Performances as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. An all male drag ballet company, the Trocks are known for their combination of laugh-out-loud comedy and their unrivaled technical skill as dancers. For the Saturday performance, Cal Performances had the distinct pleasure of commissioning photographer Brittany Hosea-Small to go behind the scenes to capture typically unseen moments in rehearsals, fitting, drag transformation, and more. In this blog, we have compiled some of the most compelling images that capture the beauty, precision, dedication, and pure joy the Trocks embody—moments that words alone could never do justice!

Thank you to Brittany for lending her artistic eye to this project, and to the Trocks for being such incredible, long standing partners to our Cal Performances audiences!

Company Class

Shohei Iwahama rehearses on stage on pointe with one arm above his head in 4th position.
Dancers warm up (featured is Sergio Najera Aguilar) on stage with dark lighting with one arm above their head at the ballet bar, close together.
Takaomi Yoshino spins on pointe in a black leotard with a light purple skirt and black leggings.
Raydel Caceres grabs the ballet bar with one hand and his foot above his head with his other arm, wearing a light purple leotard and black pants.
Dancers warm up (featured is Jake Speakman) on stage in very dark lighting with arms stretched out to the sides.
Alejandro Gonzalez Rodriguez sits on a stage lacing up ballet shoes with other dancers rehearsing on stage in background wearing a black shirt and black leggings.
Dancers stretch (featured is Kevin Garcia) on the ground on stage amongst ballet bars. One dancers stretches one arm above his head in 3rd position. Other dancers sit on the floor around him.
Robert Carter in front, weating a black tank top and black pants, poses in 3rd position while Raydel Caceres leaps in the air in the background wearing a light purple leotard.
Kevin Garcia on stage in a white shirt that is off the shoulder looks at the camera with a half smile and an attitude.
Sergio Najera Aguilar stretches his foot on pointe with a leg warmer on one leg, tight nude shorts and a black leotard. Other dancers stand in the background.
Salvador Sasot Sellart in a red shirt and black leggings sits on stage in pointe shoes rearranding his shoes.
Raydel Caceres stands on stage and smiles, eyes poiting off to the side, in a light purple leotard and black pants.

Shoes, Makeup, and Costumes

Showing only a dancer's legs, he ties one pink, satin pointeshoe on stage sitting down. Two other pairs of pointe shoes surround him.
A close up of a dancer's very neatly organized makeup station with mutiple brushes, pink and purple blush, and other makeup items.
Four dancers, in a classic dressing room, all put on their makeup while wearing rehearsal clothes.
Kevin Garcia holds a pink mirror. We can see his reflection in his dressing room mirror, and he is putting on eyeshadow.
A pair of black Doc Martin boots sit right next to two pairs of pink pointe shoes.
A close up of a dancer's very neatly organized makeup station and area with his wig, headpiece and other hair accessories.
Robert Carter puts on his eyebrow makeup in a small pink round mirror, very close up.
Dancers crowd into a dressing room to wish long-time dancer Robert Carter a happy birthday. This photo is of them taking a selfie.
Segio Najera Aguilar wears a wig cap and finishes his foundation as we watch him in a mirror.
Shohei Iwahama brushes his long, red wig in his dressing room without a shirt on and with black leggings.
Jake Speakman with his makeup done looks in a mirror and puts in his feather and tiara.
A very close up of Trocks Wardrobe Supervisor Andrea Mejuto sewing a pink tutu with black thread.
A very close up of the Trocks Wardrobe Supervisor Andrea Mejuto sewing a pink tutu in a dressing room.
Kevin Garcia poses in a white tutu in the wardobe room behind a wall of other white tutus.
Sergio Najera poses with a peace sign in the wardrobe room wearing a maroon tutu with makeup done.
Overhead view of Robert Carter in a bright red tutu in the wardrobe room, surrounded by other dancers and tutus.
Alejandro Gonzalez wears a bright red tutu in the wardrobe room while Trocks Wardrobe Supervisor Andrea Mejuto sews the underneath of the tutu.
Kevin Garcia poses facing the camera in a bright red tutu, from the wasit up, with his hands on the front of his hips.

Moments Before Curtain

Andrea Fabbri & Jake Speakman (as Araf Legupski and Colette Adae, as Prince Siegfried and the Swan Queen) casually practice on stage with Jake Speakman on pointe.
Sergio Najera (as Bertha Vinayshinski) and a swan fixes a pointe shoe sitting on stage.
Alejandro Gonzales (as Tino Xirau-Lopez, as Benno) poses right before running on stage with a peace sign.
Takaomi Yoshino (as Varvara Laptopova) pauses on pointe in the wings of backstage before going on. It's dark and the lights from the stage enter the photo very brightly.
Multiple dancers in white tutus as swans talk to each other before the curtain rises.
Takaomi Yoshino (as Varvara Laptopova) waits in the wings and looks towards her dance partner in the opposite wings.
Shohei Iwahama (as Chip Pididouda) crosses his arms and stands backstage, watching what is happening on stage. His face is lit with the stage lights.

On Stage

Salvador Sasot Sellart (as Grunya Protozoa as Girl in Pruple) and Raydel Caceres (as Mikhail Mudkin as Boy in Brick) dance. Raydel holds Savador as she looks scared that she will fall, in a comedic way.
Robert Carter (as Olga Supphozova as The Dying Swan) dances on a very dark stage with just one spotlight in an all white tutu.
Takaomi Yoshino (as Varvara Laptopova) stands on pointe on one foot with arms above her head.
Robert Carter (as Olga Supphozova as The Dying Swan) dances on a very dark stage with just one spotlight in an all white tutu.
Swans (The four little Swans) jump on pointe tightly arm-in-arm in white tutus and white feather hair pieces.
Robert Carter (as Olga Supphozova as The Dying Swan) dances on a very dark stage with just one spotlight in an all white tutu. She is facing away from the camera on pointe with arms above his head.
Robert Carter (as Olga Supphozova as The Dying Swan) dances on a very dark stage with just one spotlight in an all white tutu. She is facing the camera with half of her figure in the dark.
Takaomi Yoshino (as Varvara Laptopova) spins in a pink and yellow tutu. The image is blurred because of the speed of dancing.
Robert Carter (as Yuri Smirnov as Von Rothbart) intensely pauses on stage with an intesne red costume and wild hairpiece.
Shohei Iwahama (as Chip Pididouda) stands on one foot with his arms out, smiling towards the audience in white tights and a bright blue long-sleeved shirt.
Opening of Swan Lake, dancers are on pointe and have their arms in the air. They are smiling.
Jake Speakman (as Timur Legupski) helps Takaomi Yoshino (as Varbara Laptopova) spin. Jake is in a white shirt and black tights. Takaomi is in a pink and yello tutu.
Jake Speakman (as Colette Adae as the Swan Queen) jumps on pointe with arms above his hed in an all white tutu and white gloves.
Andrea Fabbri (as Araf Legupski as Prince Siegfried) reaches out to his Queen who isn't pictured in a black velvet costume.
Robert Carter (as Olga Supphozova as The Dying Swan) dances on a very dark stage with just one spotlight in an all white tutu as his face gets more and more labored.

Before and After

Jake Speakman rehearses on stage in a light purple leotard on one foot with one arm above his head with a tambourine.
Jake Speakman close up rehearsing at the ballet bar with one arm above his head.
Jake Speakman sits in a dressing room without a shirt on looking directly at the camera with no makeup.
Jake Speakman sits in a dressing room without a shirt looking at himself in the mirror putting on foundation with multiple makeup brushes in front of him.
Jake Speakman sits in a dressing room with full makeup and wig and looks directly at the camera. He has on red lipstick and a white tiarra and white feather.
Jake Speakman (as Colette Adae as the Swan Queen) with Trocks Wardrobe Supervisor Andrea Mejuto putting on her corset in the wardobe room.
Jake Speakman (as Colette Adae as the Swan Queen) in the wardrobe room with Andrea Mejuto behind him, smiling big looking directly at the camera with his white tutu on.
Jake Speakman (as Colette Adae as the Swan Queen) looks at her prince smiling in the stage light.
Jake Speakman close up rehearsing at the ballet bar with one arm above his head.
Jake Speakman (as Timur Legupski) helps Takaomi Yoshino (as Varbara Laptopova) spin. Jake is in a white shirt and black tights. Takaomi is in a pink and yello tutu.
Jake Speakman (as Timur Legupski) jumps up with his legs out in front of him holding a tambourine.

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