This summer, the global phenomenon Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo stormed into Germany for two dazzling months, stopping off at Berlin, Cologne, Mannheim, Osnabrück and Stuttgart along the way. This award-winning American all-male drag ballet corps parodies the conventions and clichés of romantic and classical ballet. On their recent jaunt across Germany, besides their size 12 pointe shoes, the fabulous troupe added ETC equipment to their luggage.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo was founded in 1974 by a group of ballet enthusiasts for the purpose of presenting a playful, entertaining view of traditional, classical ballet in parody form and en travesti.

The Trocks, as they are affectionately known, first performed in the late-late shows in Off-Off Broadway lofts. After receiving favourable reviews, their popularity grew and they were discovered by a wider audience. The Trocks have since gone on to tour the world, with prolonged engagements in many major cities.

For the German-leg of the latest tour, Troisdorf-based full-service event technology provider Showconcept supplied the technical equipment and staging for the ensemble. Showconcept manager Heiko Schallenberg has been involved in a variety of high-profile touring productions in Germany, including Shadowland and Rock the Ballet, and has consistently had positive experiences with ETC products. This led him to specify a package for this production that included ETC Source Four fixtures, an Ion control console, and an ETCnomad.

The performance includes scenes from Swan Lake, Paquita and Don Quixote and, according to Schallenberg, “Lighting the ballet with the right fixtures was one of the most important criteria. The Source Four was the natural choice as it offers brilliant optics and gives you a clear and uniform beam.”

The Ion console has proven to be an ideal control desk for the Trockadero tour.

With its compact footprint and up to 6144 outputs, this member of the Eos family is the perfect solution for space-challenged environments and touring productions. As a backup for the Ion, Schallenberg added an ETCnomad, which is small enough to fit on a keychain. In combination with an ETC Gadget USB to DMX/RDM converter and a laptop, the ETCnomad can easily take over the tasks of a large console, if required.

“We choose ETC gear for touring productions because the equipment is so reliable and requires very little maintenance,” says Schallenberg.

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