Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Few artistic troupes achieve their aims as thoroughly as Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, performing at The Joyce Theatre through January 4.

Billed as the "the foremost all-male comic ballet company in the world," they're much more than men dancing women's roles in the ballet, The Trocks both mock and honor the artistry, traditions and nonsense associated with ballet, from notorious Russian temperaments to the silliness of the storylines. A dance philistine, I kept thinking "I want my niece to see this," and an evening with this delightful troupe would be the perfect introduction to ballet for young audiences.

Their current three-week season alternates two programs, both featuring the troupe's unique take on classic works and a few new pieces. Program A, the one I attended, features "E Lac Des Cygnes" ("Swan Lake," Act II), "Go for Barocco," the New York premiere of "La Naiade et Le Pecheur" ("The Naiad & the Fisherman") and "Le Corsaire." Program B incudes "ChopEniana," "Patterns in Space," "Pas de Six from 'Esmeralda'" and "Don Quixote."

Program A offered an enjoyable mix of Trock standards, including their take on "Swan Lake" (a nice comic counterbalance to Matthew Bourne's other all-male staging), and the modern classic "Go for Barocco," inspired by Balanchine and danced to perfection by leads Doris Vidanya (Matthew Poppe) and Eugenia Repelskii (Joshua Thake).

Not in the program and announced just before the curtain went up, "Le Corsaire Pas de Deux" was the evening's showstopper. More a dance-off than "pas de deux," it featured dazzling work by graceful Alla Snizova (Carlos Hopuy) and the muscular, acrobatic Hungarian dancer Araf Legupski (Laszlo Major).

The one disappointment was the New York premiere of "La Naiade et Le Pecheur." Mostly a courtship between the title characters, it was overly long and uninspired. Especially disappointing, as the last piece performed, this new staging of Jules Perrot's 1843 work dampens an otherwise dazzling evening a bit.

On the train ride home, revisit the "Meet the Artists" section in your program. Far more entertaining -- and better written -- than the Who's Who in the Cast section of most theater programs, it features such gems as: "Her repertoire encompasses nearly all the works she appears in," "has defected to America three times and been promptly returned on each occasion," "has emerged as a ballerina nonpareil whose pungency is indisputable," "wrenched the heart of all who saw him dance Harlene, the Goat Roper in 'The Best Little Dacha in Sverdlovsk'" and this note for American dancer William Vanilla: "...he has never said a bad word about anybody. He will never really understand Russian ballet."

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2014, New York-based Ballet Trockadero ("Monte Carlo" is part of the fun) has become an international institution (49 states, 34 countries and over 600 cities), with multiple tours throughout Europe, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Their credits range from numerous public broadcast specials in America and the UK to "The Dick Cavett Show" and "Muppet Babies." Not surprisingly, they're especially "big in Japan," a culture known for its appreciation for art exaggerating and celebrating artifice.

"Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo" runs through Jan. 4, 2015 at The Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Avenue in New York. For information or tickets, call 212-242-0800 or visit www.joyce.org.