Ex-Dancer Claims Bolshoi Pimps Out Ballerinas To Wealthy Donors

Bolshoi officials may have thought the scandalous whispers and international news stories would die down with the arrest of lead dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko for the acid attack he allegedly perpetrated on artistic director Sergei Filin, but thanks to some shocking, out-of-left-field charges, it seems the crazy whispers will only get louder. This week, former Bolshoi ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, who was allegedly fired in 2003 for gaining weight, accused the famed ballet company of forcing its attractive female dancers to have sex with rich donors at wild parties.

The crazy allegation came during the dancer’s appearance on Russia’s NTV channel. If she is to be believed, the Bolshoi’s leadership instructed the girls to attend lavish events put on for the organization’s top donors. The ladies were allegedly told to mingle, have a good time and end in the evening in bed with one of the rich men. According to Rianovosti, Volockova would like the government to look into everything going on inside the company and assumedly, step in to correct what she sees as a beloved organization that’s gone off the rails over the years.

A spokesman for the Bolshoi has yet to respond to the allegations, but given the nature of the claim and how much traction it has gotten, it’s safe to assume a statement will be released eventually. Until then, let’s all collectively cross our fingers that the storied company starts earning headlines for its performances rather than its outlandish backstage drama.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.