Dobrin credits dancer Charles Ludlum (founder of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company in Manhattan) as the first person he knows of to don women’s clothing as a way of creating a character, going beyond female impersonation. The distinction is an important one, especially if your knowledge of drag is limited to the Kit Kat Lounge. “We’re not trying to imitate women in any way,” Dobrin says. “We’re trying to be all-male comedy ballet. You’re watching men dancing ballet steps and getting involved in [playing their] characters.”

That’s not to say this ballet isn’t serious on a technical level. The Trocks must meet both the physical challenges of performing roles originally intended for women, as well as knowingly subvert them by revealing the foibles of serious dance for the amusement of the audience. Dobrin believes his dancers are up to the challenge.

“It’s sort of like tennis, where the pointe shoe is a piece of equipment, kind of like a tennis racket,” he says. “Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf really trained in the same techniques. The only difference is that Agassi probably hit the ball a little harder and Steffi Graf had a little bit more finesse. It’s basically the same in ballet. Women have the extra skill, they have to learn the en pointe technique, but there’s no reason a man can’t do it.”

But while audiences would be hard-pressed not to be smitten by the Trocks’ technical savvy, they come for the laughs. First and foremost, the Trocks aim to please the public through an art form that has a history of being elitist. They pull in both ballet enthusiasts and novices by employing a variety of comic traditions, coupled with endless pratfalls and shameless muggings, to reinterpret the classics and 20th-century masterpieces such as Ballanchine’s Concerto Barocco.

“[Audiences] come to enjoy themselves, and part of enjoying themselves is having a variety of things to look at, including music and costumes and backdrops,” Dobrin says. “But that also includes different kinds of comedy.” He says the Trocks offer more than slapstick and parody. “What we try to do is mix it up,” he says.

Even kids love it. While Dobrin doesn’t think of the Trocks as family entertainment per se, he says any kid patient enough to sit in a theater for two hours will have a great time. “It’s not a gay show, but there is a great deal of gay sensibility in it—and in 2008 that’s typically more acceptable for children. It’s a fun show, there’s no doubt about it.”

Despite this, the radical spirit of the gay-lib vibe is still present. “Any time you cross-dress it’s a political statement of some sort,” Dobrin says. “You’re breaking out of the mold of the straight and narrow.”

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performs at the Harris Theater Thursday 17.