Montreal transit authority won't display ballet company's bloody promotional ad

Montreal's transit authority has nixed an advertisement promoting Les Grands Ballets Canadiens latest show, saying it incites violence.

The promotional image, which depicts a dancer covered in blood with a spike in her foot, is for the company's first show of the year, "Stabat Mater."

The Montreal Transit Corp. has told the renowned ballet company that it won't allow the controversial poster to go up in the city's metro system.

The transit authority says the advertisement contravened sections of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and has offered the company the option of submitting a different advertisement.

Les Grands Ballets says in a statement the show is about suffering that society is afraid to confront, noting it is based on a medieval poem about the sorrow and anguish of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion of her son.

Artistic director Ivan Cavallari says all it can do is invite the public to see the show for themselves and come to their own conclusions.

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