Battle of the bulging ballerina

She is one of the biggest names in Russian ballet and, according to her struggling male partners, Anastasia Volochkova has a figure to match.

The prima ballerina has been sacked by the Bolshoi after men complained that her height and weight made her too hard to lift.

In a bitter war of words, the 27-year-old blonde insists that she is the victim of a dirty tricks campaign because of her colourful private life - she was once bankrolled by a millionaire British lawyer, has dated Hollywood star Jim Carrey and is known as the Madonna of ballet.

But the Bolshoi insists that she is simply too fat and has managed to leak a story, yet to be confirmed, that her regular partner has required hospital treatment for a hernia.

The dispute has been seized upon with glee by the Moscow media. Yesterday the daily Vremya Novostei played on the United Russia's symbol, a bear, with a headline: 'Not even bears could hold her.'

According to some reports, no doubt encouraged by whispers from Bolshoi sources, Miss Volochkova is 6ft tall and porky with it.

She insists that when she is not up on her points, or wearing high heels, she is a mere 5ft 6in. As to her weight, she allegedly tips the scales at a dainty 7st 8lb.

Revealing that she now exists on a diet of not much more than spinach leaves and vegetables, she adds: 'I don't even eat my favourite ice cream now. The situation with the Bolshoi is not about height or weight ... these are not the test of a great ballerina.'

The dispute unfolded on September 4 when Miss Volochkova was informed by phone that she had been replaced in the following night's performance of Swan Lake.

Officials were said to have wanted a more petite dancer in the role.

She was so incensed that before the performance, she joined a noisy group of placard-carrying fans outside the theatre who were protesting about her being replaced.

Miss Volochkova complained that while riot police looked on, Bolshoi security personnel rounded them up and assaulted some of them.

The ballerina's private life gained unwelcome attention two years ago thanks to her relationship with London lawyer Anthony Kerman.

He funded a £50,000 London Palladium performance to showcase her talent, providing her with a flat in the capital and a chauffeur-driven limo.

The pair denied they were having an affair and 57-year-old Mr Kerman, a married father of two sons, claimed his intense interest was purely professional.

But his Iranian wife of 23 years, Soussi, was granted a divorce on the grounds of his adultery with an unnamed woman and the saga scandalised the world of ballet.

The Bolshoi's Katerina Novikova insisted there was no conspiracy against Miss Volochkova. 'The problem is that male dancers complained of her height and weight and refused to dance with her.'

She also claimed that Miss Volochkova was not liked by other dancers, adding: 'It's not just her psychological state.

'It's her character as well. She has her own dressing room. Not one other soloist will share her dressing room.'

Miss Novikova said while there is no standard weight for ballerinas, Miss Volochkova is 'bigger than others'.

She added, somewhat cattily: 'Then there is a question of skill.

'Someone can weigh 66lb and be hard to pick up while another person can weigh a lot, but her technique makes her easier to lift.'