Inside Trocks Dancer and Self-Proclaimed "Bag Lady" Alberto Pretto's Dance Bag

Alberto Pretto, a dancer with the all-male comedy troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, keeps his two dance bags stuffed with extra practice clothes, tutus and props. “I’m a total bag lady,” he says. While rehearsing as his Trocks alter ego, Nina Immobilashvili, it’s crucial for Pretto to get into the character’s mind-set by wearing the right-length tutu for Giselle or practicing with his Esmeralda tambourine. “It’s important with partnering to feel the same way that you would in a costume,” he says. Switching his clothes during the day also leaves Pretto feeling refreshed, and it gives him a chance to model his newest creations for his dancewear line, AlbyPretty. “Sometimes it’s good to bring a little color into the studio.”

Pro Pointe Shoe Hacks From The Trocks’ Alberto Pretto
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The Trocks are primarily a touring company, and Pretto carries around mementos from past travels. His Swan Lake–printed towel comes from fans in Japan. “They shower us with gifts,” he says. And he got his Marie Antoinette–themed notebook in Versailles. “I always note choreography down. In class if I love a combination, I’ll write it down, too, to remember the steps.”

Quinn Wharton for Pointe

The Goods

Clockwise from top left: Bloch Inc. booties, Clif bar, iPhone, Bunheads’ Spun Silver Lamb’s Wool, wallet, Gaynor Minden custom pointe shoes, tambourine, Swan Lake towel, Gaynor Minden Dancers’ Dots, spray bottle (“I spray water onto the box of new shoes to soften them”), AlbyPretty Svetlana Zakharova T-shirt, bag of ribbons and elastics, Deuserband resistance band, hand-knit legwarmers (“An English National Ballet prima gave them to me as a gift when I was a dancer there”), Pillows For Pointes rock rosin, AlbyPretty biketard, foam roller (“This is my best friend on tour”), AlbyPretty pull-on skirt, makeup bag (“Everything’s travel-sized for touring”), notebook, Voltaren (“This is another of my best friends!”), exercise ball, Sansha Pro 1C ballet slippers, sewing pouch, Bunheads’ Ouch Pouch.

See Alberto Pretto with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at NYC’s
Joyce Theater through December 30.