Bolshoi Theater Struggles with 'Heavy' Ballerina -

Yahoo.com ^ | September 12, 2003

[UnklGene]

Bolshoi Theater Struggles with 'Heavy' Ballerina Fri Sep 12, 9:42 AM ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow's Bolshoi Theater was embroiled in a high-profile row on Thursday with an ice-cream-loving ballerina it says is too heavy for ballet partners to lift.

Anastasia Volochkova, one of Russia's best-known ballerinas, says the theater telephoned her 12 hours before she was due to perform in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" last week telling her not to turn up.

She told a news conference on Thursday she had been sacked.

But the prestigious theater denies dismissing her. It says it has offered her a new contract but cannot find her a partner for ballets which require lifting.

"None of the male soloists at the Bolshoi Theater agrees to dance with her, particularly in her current physical state," Bolshoi Theater director Anatoly Iskanov told Reuters.

Volochkova, who is taller than most ballerinas, admits being partial to ice cream although she opts for the lower-fat option of frozen yogurt.

"I love ice cream so much that I can't imagine life without it," she said in a statement handed out at the news conference.

[UnklGene]

Big-Ass Anatasia "squashed the swan" in Swan Lake.

[Ex-Dem]

Let's see a picture. Overweight by ballerina standards probably still qualifies as rail-thin by normal standards.

[randita]

After reading horror stories of the pressure on ballerinas to pursue anorexia or bulimia, it's kind of nice to hear that one of them actually eats like a normal person. She probably weighs 90 lbs. instead of the more common 75-80 lbs.

[Dog]

Remember that commerical for Russian fashion and the fat lady in the grey dress(swim wear, evening wear holding a flashlight?).....seems they hired her for the ballet.

[netmilsmom]

She probably looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago. Because she was thicker than Renee Z., my hubby instantly said she was a lesser dancer. She was wonderful and he ate his words when we watched the extra features and Catherine had been a dancer for a long time while Renee had just learned for the role.

[The Radical Capitalist]

It ain't over 'til the fat lady dances.

[Dog]

"None of the male soloists at the Bolshoi Theater agrees to dance with her, particularly in her current physical state," Bolshoi Theater director Anatoly Iskanov told Reuters.

Volochkova, who is taller than most ballerinas, admits being partial to ice cream although she opts for the lower-fat option of frozen yogurt.

Imagine a hockey player in a tutu..

[netmilsmom]

http://www.ballerinagallery.com/pic/voloch03x.jpg
Go here for the picture, sorry I don't know how to post it.

[Shmokey]

Hey...I ordered a swan not a cow !!!

[retrokitten]

[evets]

Top Russian ballerina Anastasia Volochkova answers a journalist's question during a news conference in Moscow September 11, 2003. Volochkova is in dispute with the Bolshoi Ballet company whom she accuses of conspiring to oust her from the world famous theatre.

[netmilsmom]

Thank You!
How did you do that?

[Dog]

Wow .....she is a babe!!!

[martin_fierro]

She can squash my swan any day.

[retrokitten]

it's like this...

< img sr="www.puttheurlhere.com" >

I put spaces between the < >and the code, so just remove the spaces.

[stanz]

[retrokitten]

Yeah, a real porker.

[RoseofTexas]

GOOD FOR HER!! I've dance ballet for many years and have witnessed the horrors of this art! Yes, it's beautiful to watch but very demanding on the body! Teachers are specially cruel and mean when it comes to body weight. And let's not talk about age! 30 and your kupt, finished! I suggest that if you intent to enroll your child in ballet, try to find a christian led dance studio.

[retrokitten]

D'oh! I messed it up!! It should look like this...

< img src="www.pictureurlhere.com" >