Ballet enthusiasts have complained about a new set of adverts designed to show a sexier side to the art.

The English National Ballet was flooded with calls after promoting itself with a series of provocative posters showing its female performers in glamorous poses.

The latest advertisement shows Italian dancer Simona Ferrazza wearing an unbuttoned tuxedo with nothing underneath, exposing her cleavage.

Another ad shows ballerina Belinda Hernandez wearing a sheer top and displaying a tattoo on her midriff.

Art form for everyone

A spokesman for the company said the series of ads, displayed on the London Underground network, had raised eyebrows amongst traditionalists.

But he added the point of the posters was to show ballet as an art form for everyone.

"A lot of the calls were from people who thought that was what the show was going to look like, but we explained to them that we're focusing on different personalities and showing them in a surprising new light," he said.

'Need to bring classics alive'

The ENB's marketing director, Richard Shaw, said: "People have this misplaced image of classical ballet as stuffy, dull and boring.

"We have a huge job to unpick this perception and to develop new ways of exciting the wider general public in our work. We continually need to find ways of bringing the classical repertoire alive for modern audiences.

"As well as using stimulating graphics, we need to find ways of removing all sorts of barriers to attendance or overcoming prejudices and preconceptions about classical ballet."

Attendances for ENB performances rose by 80% during the 1997/98 season.

Fans intrigued by the posters of Ms Ferrazza can see her as the Fairy Godmother in the ENB's production of Cinderella which opens at the Apollo, Oxford, on October 20.