In women’s roles, men make pointe
Performers in Saint-Petersburg State Male Ballet stress artistry over parody

When the eight men of Valery Mikhailovsky’s 14-year-old Saint-Petersburg State Male Ballet don tutus and pointe shoes tonight for the Boston stop of their first American tour, they won’t be camping it up for cheap yuks.

“There is an element of humor, but it’s not the main element,” says Mikhailovsky. “The main objective is not to look like a silly farce, but a serious parody.”