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Part One
A parody of classical ballet entitled "Swan Lake XXL Plus" performed to selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake suite. A magician calls upon a fairy swan to show a group of chickens how graceful and beautiful they could become - much to the disapproval of the strict matriarch, Madam Hen.
Part Two
An eclectic mix of modern dance styles in which the supersized ladies are joined by the slim, athletic young men of "Fight Club" in a heady cocktail of group and solo dances performed to music ranging from Tom Jones 'Sex Bomb' to modern Russian popular music.
I really didn't know quite what to expect from this one, but what I got certainly did not disappoint - with an emphasis on humour this show is tremendous fun. The big ballet it is called, and with thirteen ladies meeting a minimum weight requirement of seventeen stones, big it certainly is.
True, Part One is a little slow, very short (at thirty minutes) and perhaps misses a few opportunities that could have made it so much better. The ballet moves, for example, are very limited and restricted mostly to rhythmic, synchronised arm movements, with few actual ballet steps. But the ladies are unexpectedly graceful and enter into the whole proceedings with a great sense of fun. Tatyana Gladkih, who had to gain three stone to meet the minimum requirement to lead this tour, led the way as the Swan complete in white tutu, and, as the lead dancer of the troupe, displayed some surprisingly light and elegant movements including an impressive ability to raise her heavyweight frame on point. Ekaterina Yurkova, as Madam Hen, on the other hand, plays it strictly for laughs and is the chief comedienne of the troupe. Her movements were deliberately thunderous as she stomped across the stage, glowering and playing to the crowd. Selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite provide the music whilst holding it all together is Vitalij Kolyshkin as the magician.
By far the best of the action is Reserved for Part Two, however, where the tempo is raised significantly and we are introduced to the ladies partners in crime, 'Fight Club'. These were six bare chested young men with amazing talent and boundless energy, who perform with the ladies as well as undertaking a few outstandingly energetic routines all of their own. The dance is distinctly modern, even raunchy at times, with energetic music, wild moves and outlandish costumes. The action ranged from hot and sultry to downright cheesy and at times utterly hilarious, with the best numbers being generally those that were accompanied by comtemporary Russian music which infused the action with immediate energy. The boys costumes ranged from buttock-less jeans to skimpy black breifs, and even for, one routine fluted skirts and veiled hats, whilst the ladies paraded in gypsy costumes, voluminous gauze skirts, and skimpy black leather biker gear to name but a few. The latter provided one of the comic highlights of the evening, as the boys were pushed to the ground, and the ladies, riding imaginary motorcycles, strode over them. The gypsy routine was superb and showed beyond any measure of doubt that large ladies can dance, whilst another routine with the ladies doing log rolls whilst a sailor-suited boy rode over them provided a further moment of great hilarity.
Some might see this show as exploitive, I would immediately disagree, a freak show it is not. The ladies enter into the proceedings with great gusto and clearly enjoy what they are doing, showing the World that they have talent and that dancing is not only for the skinny. In fact these ladies are on the whole surprisingly athletic, but then, as one of them quips in the program, "it is easy to do the splits with seventeen stones of down-force."
A combination of unquestionable skill, comedy and athleticism providing a fun evening of highly enjoyable entertainment.