Ballerina rolls naked in snow to cool off

A Russian ballet star amazed fans when she stripped off after a show and rolled naked in the snow outside to cool off.

Anastasia Volochkova, 36, braved temperatures of minus 30C as she peeled off her tutu following her performance in The Nutcracker in Kemerovo, Russia.

The ballerina - once sacked by the world famous Bolshoi Ballet for being too heavy for male dancers to lift - posted pictures of herself with a towel protecting her modesty.

"After the show I just felt like cooling off and dived into the fluffy snowy banks," she wrote on her blog.

Volochkova is a controversial figure in Russia, where she is known as the Paris Hilton of Moscow, as well known for her self-publicity as for her dancing.

Earlier this month, she posted revealing snaps from a holiday in the tropical Maldives on her website.