Actually, this week we have a preview by Melody Datz, based on her interview with the associate ballet master at Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo:

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  • SASCHA VAUGHN

Raffaele Morra does not shave his chest, even though his professional wardrobe includes pointe shoes, a golden tiara, and yards of fluffy white tulle. For someone used to the traditional staging of classical ballets, it may be jolting to see a hairy, um, décolletage nestled into a frilly white Swan Lake costume, or to watch the uniquely defined musculature of male quadriceps peeking out from under a tutu while whipping through 32 fouettés. But the all-male company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo makes it work.

The Trocks have been around since the 1970s but Morra mentioned to Datz that in the past several years, as drag aesthetics have entered mainstream culture, the company's audience has diversified. But they are not, he emphasized, drag—they keep their male personality and technique while dancing roles traditionally reserved for women.

Read the whole thing here.