Russia's world famous Bolshoi theater is embroiled in another controversy after former ballerina Anastasia Volochkova accused the company of making its female dancers have sex with wealthy patrons, the BBC reported Wednesday.
In multiple interviews this week, Volochkova said General Director Anatoly Iskanov had turned the Bolshoi "into a giant brothel."
"The girls were forced to go along to grand dinners and given advance warning that afterwards they would be expected to go to bed and have sex," Volochkova claimed.
"When the girls asked: 'What happens if we refuse?', they were told that they would not go on tour or even perform at the Bolshoi theatre. Can you imagine?"
Iskanov denied the accusations.
"I don't comment on dirt and ravings," he said.
Volochkova was controversially fired from the Bolshoi in 2003 amid reports she had gained too much weight.
Her accusation is the latest in a recent string of PR problems to plague the Bolshoi, adding to the company's reputation for infighting and corruption. Dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko and two other men confessed to throwing sulfuric acid at the theater director Sergei Filin earlier this month.
"The motive for the crime lies in [Filin's] hostile relations with Dmitrichenko connected to his work," the police said.
