A BALLET company will be showing you are never ‘tutu’ heavy to perform on stage when they arrive in Burnley next month.

The Big Ballet, which features 16 dancers who are each 17-stone-plus, are making their first appearance in East Lancashire at Burnley Mechanics on October 28.

Otherwise known as the Evgeny Panfilov Russian State Ballet, the troupe hails from the city of Perm, in the Urals.

Under the tutelage of some of Russian’s finest trainers, and influenced by the works of Tchaikovsky and Diaghlev, the balley academy there has been turning out star names since 1820.

A Big Ballet spokesman said: “We set out to deliberately and above all self-confidently challenged accepted social standards in a world where the pursuit of slenderness and beauty seem obsessive.

“Our dancers prove that grace, elegance, charisma and nimbleness is not the domain of the thin, proudly presenting their voluptous yet surprisingly sinuous and flexible figures.

No-one could accuse the impresarios behind the Big Ballet of not being hardcore about their stated aims.

Earlier this year Tatyana Gladkih was suspended by the corps de ballet for plunging under the 17 stone weight barrier.

But just over a fortnight later, and with enough rest to regain her lost poundage, Tatyana was restored to an on-stage role.

Katya Yurkowa, the Big Ballet’s dance captain, has previously said: "We eat normal amounts of food, and the same food, as everybody else.

“Our size is in our genes. We had the opportunity and, under one of the world’s leading choreographers, we gained the ability and confidence to take to the stage and show we are as good at professional dance as thin people.”

The Big Ballet was created by the choregrapher Panfilov in 1994 and their show is split into two distinct phases.

Light-hearted parodies of popular classical ballets kick off the proceedings before moving on to modern music like Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys and Tom Jones.

For tickets to the Burnley show contact the box office on 01282 664400.