Ballerinas make a big impact on the stage

By Karen Price, Western Mail

A TROUPE of Russian female ballet dancers, who weigh an average of 20 stone, returns to Wales this week.

The Big Ballet is made up of 16 female dancers who certainly do not conform to the stereotypical image of a ballerina.

The company was set up by Russian ballet choreographer, Panfilov, who was murdered in 2002.

But regardless of their size, the dancers move with grace, dignity and flair.

Having now performed for much of Europe and, hot on the heels of their hugely successful UK debut last year, The Big Ballet is now undertaking an even bigger tour of the UK, including a date at St David’s Hall in Cardiff.

But despite their sizes, dance captain Ekatarina Yurkova says the dancers do not overeat.

“We eat normal amounts of food, and the same kind of food, as everybody else – our size is in our genes,” says Yurkova.

“Either way, since Panfilov gave us the confidence, we all love to dance and look forward to putting on an even bigger tour than last year.”

The Big Ballet hails from Perm, a city in Russia’s Ural mountain range. Formed to challenge social standards in a world where slenderness and beauty seems obsessive, The Big Ballet dancers courageously and imposingly prove that grace, elegance, charisma and nimbleness are not the sole preserve of the “thin” and proudly present their voluptuous, yet surprisingly sinuous and flexible, figures.

Leading Big Ballet dancer Tatyana Gladkaya jokes: “You definitely have to have a sense of humour to be in The Big Ballet, but we still take our work seriously.

“Having said that, it’s easy to do the splits with 120 kilos of down-force!”

The Big Ballet is at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, on Wednesday . For details, call the box office on 029 2087 8444

IcWales.icnetwork.co.uk, Apr 14 2008