It's Swan blokes!

It is easy to get muddled when you watch the Trockaderos. If you half close your eyes, the all-male tribute troupe look very, very like real ballerinas, a little clumpy and misshapen, a little too old and grand, but ballerinas all the same.

The sensation is strange, because you find yourself spotting the best ones, and the pretty ones, and thinking, "she's very good", then you remember that they're blokes in tutus spoofing all things ballet, including those who do it and those who want to.

It's a very funny joke, as is the false modesty and feigned grandeur, and all the aristocratic manners that soon crumble into an unseemly scrap for the spotlight.

And then the Trocks, as everyone calls them, do all the things you dread - the wobbles and falls, the loose ribbonsand slipped wigs, plus out-of-sync swans, blue-eyeliner abuse, mime you can't fathom and mangled feet, something you often see in London, and not just on second-rate visiting Russians.

While your heart is sinking, the Trocks scoop you back up with funny walks and silly names (Nadia Doumiafeyva, Ida Nevasayneva, etc). Subtlety they know not, but they do love ballet, and they love biffing those who take it too seriously.

They also show ballet as it really is. And, truth to tell, only one or two dancers a decade make us believe in Swan Lake. The rest, well, there are lots of good ballerinas, but many more with legs like hams and feet like kippers.

Not seen in London for five years, the Trocks stormed back to the Peacock Theatre with the first of two mixed bills. All was as you'd expect - Swan Lake with hairy chests, a Dying Swan who flirts with the audience, a competitive, back-stabbing Pas de Quartre, and a pushy Paquita with her timid Prince.

There was also a great Tarantella (after Balanchine) performed with more flair than the real thing.

The Trocks are hardly new, and their campery often feels dated. Then they shrug and wink, and you're glad the New York funsters are still horsing around.

Show runs until 8 April. Information: 0870 737 7737.

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo: Programme I