THE GRACEFUL BEAST
New documentary sheds light on provocative ballet prodigy Sergei Polunin
When Sergei Polunin became the youngest principal dancer at London’s Royal Ballet in 2009 at the age of 19, he was already known for his capricious behaviour. When he abruptly walked away from the job in 2012, it only confirmed what many believed — this was ballet’s loosest cannon. But a new documentary from Steven Cantor reveals much more about Ukraine-born prodigy.
Here are some things we learned from the film Dancer:
HE WAS BORN TO DANCE
There are numerous interviews with family members as well as Polunin himself. His mother says that when a nurse was looking over her newborn baby in 1989, she was astonished at how flexible his legs were; they could spread and spread. HIS EDUCATION WAS A FAMILY AFFAIR THAT SPLIT THE FAMILY
To pay for his education, Polunin’s grandmother found work in Greece, while his father, Vladimir, moved to Portugal. His mother, Galina, took him to London to apply for the Royal Ballet school, but when he was accepted she had to return to Ukraine. Eventually, Polunin’s parents would divorce. Today, Vladimir regrets not spending more time with his son.
FELLOW DANCERS SAY HE’S ‘THE GRACEFUL BEAST’
One of Polunin’s colleagues says he would tackle a dance step like a lion on the hunt, but that once he was in the air he became a picture of majesty and control. In addition to footage of performances, the filmmakers uncovered lots of amateur video and home movies showing the young Polunin astonishing his family and teachers even from the age of eight.
HE PARTIES HEARTILY
It says something when your friends have multiple recordings of one of the many times you were so wasted they drew on your face with a marker. (One night, they shaved off an eyebrow while he slept.) And he freely admits to dancing on cocaine and painkillers, telling a reporter that “you enjoy yourself more” and dance better when you don’t feel pain.
HE BECAME A YOUTUBE SENSATION
After he left the Royal Ballet, Polunin bounced around for a while, unable to work in America as he’d hoped because
no company there would touch him. But he found renewed fame when he performed in a music video for Take Me to Church by Irish singer/songwriter Hozier, choreographed by his best friend and fellow dancer Jade HaleChristofi. Still only 27, Polunin is still questioning his career.
“Why do you have to do anything?” he says. “Because you’re good at it?”