The 17-stone dancers of the Big Ballet stand out in an art form dominated by slender frames. Kerry Ann Eustice looks into the troupe's huge reputation

THE headline-hogging New York City Ballet is in town; all acclaimed choreography and distinct style. Everywhere you turn, media folk are gushing about the company's first trip to London for 25 years.

Also touring, you may be interested to learn, is a troupe proving not all choreographers want their performers to be on the dangerous side of a size zero.

In an art form where performers are renowned for their slender frames, The Big Ballet is certainly one worth talking about.

"One of the purposes for the whole show was to help big people feel better about themselves." - Alexej Ignatow

Top Russian choreographer Eugene Panfilov - a mould breaker who mixed classical scores with modern rock music and defiantly blended dance styles before his death in 2002 - devised the Big Ballet in 1994.

Keen to prove dancers can be any size, Panfilov set a strict weight minimum of 17 stone (a dietician is called for if a dancer's weight drops) and opened up the auditions.

Creating a show in which dancers had not been professionally trained was also something the choreographer was interested in experimenting with, says Big Ballet's UK tour producer Alexej Ignatow.

"It was started from scratch," he said. "All of the girls, growing up in Russia, from four years old wanted to be ballerinas, so all went to dance classes. But at one stage their teacher told their parents their proportions are not there and there will be no future'.

"Panfilov saw these girls could move and they had danced before, he just needed to teach them how to do transfer it from the heart into their legs and hands."

"It opens ballet up. Classical ballet is more serious but these girls make jokes." - Alexej Ignatow

Although largely a spoof on ballet - Swan Lake gets the satirical treatment in the first act followed by a selection of trademark Panfilov style-blending disco numbers for the finale - bona fide techniques are integrated.

"It's very similar but there are some physical limitations you have to take into account," said Alexej of the performances.

"All the routines are based around their weight. If a person of normal weight needs one step to turn around an overweight person needs three or four.

"So you have to plan your work around their size. That's the first thing and the second thing is practicality, for example lifting one the ballerinas. We tried it once, it took six guys to do that.

So you can't do that to the same extent as in classical ballet. They do as much as they can."

Lifts aside, most traditional steps are worked in. Dancers, for example, can do the splits and the prima ballerina Tatyana Gladkaya even goes en pointe, despite the fact it makes her toes bleed.

"They say it's easy to do the splits when you have 17 stone of downfall. They take it all with humour." - Alexej Ignatow

You can just imagine those size zero primas scowling into their slim fast, can't you?

It is clear Panfilov not only wanted to test his dancers, and audiences with the convention and belt busting ideas, but challenge himself too.

"That was the whole idea," Alexej affirms. "Today's world is orientated on one type and is very narrow minded.

"He was trying to show there's nothing wrong with this, just watch and enjoy and you'll realise something different adds value."

With such intense focus on accessibility in the arts in recent times, it's surprising a venue and leotard filling formula such as this hasn't inspired any spin-off groups such as the Giant Jivers, Big Break dancers or Large Limboists, for example.

"That's very interesting," he said. "As far as I'm aware from the feedback we get there is no such thing.

"One of the purposes for the whole show was to help big people feel better about themselves. It gives them confidence to go and try out dance themselves."

He added: "The Big Ballet shows other people look although we're overweight, we still can move and can still do the things others do'.

"You have to do whatever you want, no matter how big or small you are. And that's what they're trying to show on stage."

This show, similarly to Matthew Bourne's lucid productions, also helps to demystify ballet.

"Yes it opens ballet up," agrees Alexej of the show's potential to bring new audiences to dance.

"Classical ballet is more serious and these girls make jokes about each other.

"When asked how do you guys do the splits, as it looks so difficult.' They always say We have two answers, one is training, stretching and daily work and the other is it's easy when you have 17 stone of downfall'. They take it with humour.

"That's the best way to understand each other. Panfilov knew humour is the best way to understand somebody's point."

The Big Ballet. Fairfield Halls, Croydon, March 25. 020 8688 9291

The Orchard, Dartford, April 28. 01322 220000.