Famous dancer Sergei Polunin: “I tore off the Russian coat of arms on my hand shortly before the annexation of Crimea. Sergei Polunin: “I don’t think I achieved anything good in ballet

The youngest premier in the history of the London Royal Ballet, Sergei Polunin, is called nothing less than “ new genius Russian ballet". Due to his recognition from the West and his absolutely exceptional talent, Polunin is often compared to Nureyev and Baryshnikov. However, unlike the latter, after the wave of fame that overtook him in the West, he chose to work in Russia, unexpectedly breaking his contract with the London Royal Ballet in 2012. Despite the fact that Polunin has limited his public appearances to a minimum, he still soars over the stage with such ease that the audience is speechless with delight. He's earned a ton of nicknames: The Bad Boy, the James Dean of ballet, the epitome of the Boundary.

Sergei was born in Kherson in 1989, at the age of 4 he began training gymnastics. After suffering from pneumonia, a little behind the rest of the boys in the gymnastics class, he began to study ballet. He continued his studies in Kyiv, moving there with his mother, who always very strictly followed Sergei’s creative discipline, which subsequently influenced their relationship: except for children’s competitions and competitions in Kyiv, the mother never saw her son’s performances live.

But largely thanks to his mother’s fanatical efforts to achieve the best future for Sergei, at the age of 13 he began studying at the Royal ballet school in London. He even trained free time and was always the best in its class. In 2007 he received the title of “Young Dancer of the Year” in the UK. Three years later, Polunin became the leading soloist of the London Royal Ballet. Having achieved dizzying success, he was faced with the fact that ballet in Britain is popular for a rather closed community of people and there was no talk of fame like that of a rock star or a football star.

I don't think I achieved anything good in ballet. But I would like to change the industry - to make life easier for young dancers and bring ballet closer to a mass audience. IN modern ballet nothing interesting happens. Classical ballet is dead. The public's love for him will never die, but there is no longer any life inside him. The industry is not strong enough to attract the best directors and musicians. Nowadays it is much more interesting to write music for cinema, opera, and video games. If Mozart were alive today, he would be working on musicals. The only question is where the audience is larger. But classical ballet did not open up in time. Agents and managers have not joined the system - now it is not interesting either financially or creatively. The king and queen come on stage - that doesn't work anymore. Only for a certain audience.

The young dancer, with great ambitions, began to neglect regular training for some time and became so carried away by tattoos that he even became a co-owner of a tattoo parlor. During this time, about a dozen tattoos appeared on Polunin’s body, which had to be hidden with a band-aid during performances. The dancer admitted that he used drugs several times before going on stage. At the same time, 21-year-old Sergei’s first serious relationship with 30-year-old ballet dancer Helen Crawford broke up, which played an important role in the dancer’s thoughts about leaving.

Usually everyone thinks that the quieter the better. You fit into the system and go with the flow. Trying to sit still. But as soon as you notice some kind of malfunction and talk about it, it will immediately cause discontent. You spoil your reputation, but only in the industry itself, which does not want to change. I was once offered to try on clothes, and I honestly said that I didn’t like them. And then they said, jokingly, of course, but still: “Apparently, it will be difficult for us to work.” Just because I have an opinion. This is my rebellion - asking questions without knowing the answer. I'm not fighting for freedom, I just want to feel free.

If Baryshnikov and Nuriev in the West at one time found greater freedom for self-expression, then Polunin found this freedom in Russia. After scandalous departure from the Royal Ballet, Sergei initially wanted to move to America, but for some reason he chose Russia. Not finding any prospects for himself in St. Petersburg, where the dancer first went, he received an invitation from I. Zelensky.

Now Sergei Polunin is the premier of the Stanislavsky-Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater in Moscow, and since 2012 he has been a permanent guest soloist of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. “Bad guy of ballet” - this is how Sergei Polunin was dubbed in the press, not only for his lifestyle and appearance, but also for the dancer’s love for breaking classical patterns. For example, he went to one of the performances in the ballet “Copellia” with a shaved head, which shocked many spectators who were accustomed to the classical costumes and appearance of the production’s characters. This is not rebellion for the sake of rebellion. Polunin always puts emotions and dance itself above technique and external brilliance.

You just need to show your feelings to the public and not concentrate on technique. Ballet is not a sport.

At the same time, according to critics, the dancer’s dance technique the highest level. The combination of natural charisma, acting talent and high mastery of technique gives Polunin very great freedom in expressing himself, changing and overthrowing some classical ideas about the art of ballet. The images created by Sergei Polunin on stage seem truly alive. Artistry, soft plasticity of movements, elasticity and expressiveness of body bends in dance and the dancer’s bright appearance will not allow him to be confused with anyone else.

Sergei Polunin. Photo – Sean Dempsey, TASS/PA

The famous artist talks about the desire to change the world of dance, about Rudolf Nureyev and new roles in films.

A documentary film directed by Stephen Cantor, “Dancer,” about the world ballet star Sergei Polunin, was released on Russian screens.

An Izvestia correspondent met with the hero of the film.

Films about ballet are infrequent guests in our cinemas. Are you satisfied with how Russian audiences are receiving the film?

The film premiered in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Moscow, at the Pioneer cinema. I like the way this cinema works. He promotes good cinema and makes it accessible to a wide audience. I’m not talking about the film “Dancer”, but about the importance of showing good films.

Unfortunately there are too many now stupid pictures. I don’t think this has a good effect on culture, on personal development. People stopped thinking. Of course, entertaining cinema also has a right to exist, but it has become completely uninteresting.

You left Royal Theater at Covent Garden in London and decided to end his career in classical ballet. Is that why the idea was born to create a biographical film and thus summarize what has happened?

When I left the Royal Theater, producer Gabrielle Tana approached me and decided to make a film about Rudolf Nureyev. She was looking for someone to play him, and that’s how she found me.

Together with Gabi, we met with Igor Zelensky ( artistic director of the Bavarian Ballet. - approx. ed.), and he advised making a film not about a person who no longer exists, but about a person who lives in our time. That's how the idea came about.

It was still not entirely clear what kind of film it would be and what it would be about. But in the end it was already decided: when a person is still living his life, he does not know how it will end.

- So you still can’t say that this film is a kind of final point in your career as a dancer?

It was like that in my head: I’m finishing some part of my creative path and documenting my dance. A documentary film is an opportunity to sum it up and leave the stage with peace of mind.

Honestly, after watching the film, the thought arose: why should Polunin leave, he needs to continue... Then I found out that this summer you will appear on the stage of the Royal Theater again, and then - that you refused this invitation.

Yes, I refused. I stopped believing that theaters can and want to change something. It doesn’t seem to me that the life of dancers is good enough to work in the theater: for money, for freedom, for the opportunity to create something. If you really love dance, then it’s better not to be in the theater, I’m sure of it. Some continuous repetitions begin, and there is no freedom to learn something.

- What needs to be done to change the situation? What can you personally and are already doing?

I created my Polunin Project, and my team and I will slowly develop it. Our evening will take place at the Coliseum Theater in London in December.

- Does the platform then transform into your theater?

I have no goal of becoming attached to a specific place. A platform like this can do something in any country, and a dancer, even if he works in the theater, can get the opportunity to leave for a month or two and work with us. These will be new performances or revivals of ballets, which, in our opinion, are interesting.

The project is currently at initial stage, he is quite ambitious, because I would like to do performances with an orchestra and scenery. It is difficult when there is no theater, but at the same time nothing is impossible. I would also like to make films about dance, but not as a broadcast of a performance, but as a film.

- Do you want to withdraw elite art ballet for a mass audience?

This should happen, because the art of ballet is very deep and interesting, although, from the point of view of theaters and directors, it is unprofitable. For dancers, such an outlet will be a salvation, and for the dance itself, too, but only if the ballet reaches a mass audience without losing quality. Of course, doubt arises: is it worth developing the art of ballet without money and a large audience?

And I answer myself: it’s worth it. For the sake of ballet, for the sake of the dancers. Today, corps de ballet dancers are paid somewhere around fifteen hundred dollars at the Royal Ballet, and renting an apartment costs two thousand. But the Royal Ballet is a top theater, one of the richest in the world, but the money earned does not reach the artists.

I can say the same about Moscow - three or four families rent housing together. That's what I'm fighting against. I am for respect for dancers, they have a short lifespan. I am for giving them the opportunity to work and earn money.

- The film “Dancer” is not your only film experience. Has cinematography sunk into your soul for a long time?

Since childhood, I remembered the films I watched, and for me cinema remained the only fairy tale. When you grow up, many things become commonplace and understandable, but cinema still retains the magic of the unknown. Therefore, when offers to act in films appeared, I agreed.

I immediately liked the process itself. you live different lives, nothing is repeated, new situations, cities. There is an opportunity to feel another time, an era.

- You once said that compared to ballet acting profession simpler and easier.

IN physically It’s really simpler, but there are some nuances. Ballet is complicated precisely by physics: you take care of your body so that it doesn’t let you down or break. In cinema, the difficulty is more psychological: you have to get into character and have well-developed intuition.

- What is the most difficult thing for a dancer who decides to become a dramatic artist?

The problem with dancers is that they don’t speak on stage, which means they are not familiar with their voice. When I started working in cinema, I realized: I need to talk, get used to own voice, master it. Plus getting rid of the accent: I’ve lived in the UK for a long time, but I still have a slight accent.

But the main training is the filming itself. Practice and work are important. I'm lucky. They offer, trust and help in the process.

This year, two films with your participation will be released: the thriller “Red Sparrow” and “Murder on the Orient Express” based on the story by Agatha Christie. Information also appeared about the start of filming of Ralph Fiennes' film about Rudolf Nureyev.

Yes, filming of the film about Nureyev will begin in August. I will play Yuri Solovyov. This is a dancer from the Kirov Ballet, whom Nureyev considered the best. But Solovyov remained in the Soviet Union and committed suicide. And Nureyev became known throughout the world. Different destinies.

I like that this film will show why Nureyev ended up abroad. After all, everyone thinks that he is a traitor and has escaped. In fact, he had no intention of running anywhere. He always wanted to return to his homeland and spoke fondly of Russia. His departure had nothing to do with the country, only with the prevailing circumstances, and he did not end up in the West because he wanted fame.

-Where is your house? Where do you want to be and live?

House? I don't know, I'm searching right now. I would like to understand what home is. It so happened that I was born in Kherson, into a family that came there from Russia, then at the age of seven I ended up in Kyiv and stayed there for four years. From Kyiv he went to study in London, and lived there for the most part. for a long time- nine years.

Reference

Sergei Polunin was born on November 20, 1989 in Kherson. At the age of nine he entered the Kiev Choreographic School, four years later, with the support of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, he moved to London, where he completed choreographic education. At the age of 17 he was accepted into the troupe of the Royal Theater in Covent Garden.

At the age of 19, he became the youngest prime minister in its history. Later he was the prime minister of Moscow musical theater named after Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, guest soloist of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. In 2016 he became a guest soloist with the Bavarian State Ballet.

Sergei Polunin (27 years old) is a global superstar today. At the age of 19, he became the principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London, but left this famous stage less than three years later. Despite the fact that Polunin has limited his public appearances to a minimum, he still soars over the stage with such ease that the audience is speechless with delight. He's earned a ton of nicknames: The Bad Boy, the James Dean of ballet, the epitome of the Boundary. IN Lately he begins to realize another dream of his - to become an actor. Recently, filming of the film “Murder on the Orient Express” directed by Kenneth Branagh ended, where Polunin played along with Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Penelope Cruz.

The general public noticed Polunin at the end of 2014 in the video for the song by Irish singer Hozier Take Me To Church, shot by photographer David LaChapelle. The stunning leaps and pirouettes of the then 24-year-old dancer, covered in tattoos and scars, now have 20 million views on YouTube. Paradoxically, Polunin was also noticed by the BBC channel, which became a co-producer of the biographical documentary “Dancer”. The film will be shown in Czech cinemas at the end of May.

Polunin was born in 1989 in the Ukrainian city of Kherson on the Black Sea coast into a Russian-speaking family. At the age of 13, he was accepted into the ballet studio at the Royal Academy in London, and almost immediately they started talking about him as a future star. At 19, he became the Royal Ballet's premier, the youngest in its history. But less than three years later he left the scene, and the media began writing about his wild lifestyle of partying, alcohol and cocaine. He himself admits that he often reinforces his strength with various substances before performances: “Then I don’t feel pain, I fall into a daze and often don’t even remember how the performance went,” Polunin says artlessly in a documentary filmed in 2012-2016. Two months ago, the premiere of the large-scale play Project Polunin took place in the British capital, on which Sergei Polunin worked together with his girlfriend Natalya Osipova. The dancer appeared before the Prague public on the first of May in National Theater on Dancer Live.

Reflex: You are originally from Ukraine, lived and worked in London for a long time, and then performed in Russia. You spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and just returned from a tour of Japan. Where do you feel at home?

Sergei Polunin: I return to London often, and although I love the city and amaze me every time, I don’t consider it home. So, if you’re asking about this, Ukraine is probably closest to me.

— After you left the Royal Ballet in London in 2012, you danced in Moscow and Novosibirsk for a year and a half. Finally, shortly before the annexation of Crimea by Russian troops, you left. On one of your hands you have a tattoo of the coat of arms of Russia, on the other - of Ukraine...

“I tore off the Russian coat of arms shortly before what happened, as if I had a premonition of what would happen. I applied the Ukrainian coat of arms later. Either way, I think it's time for these two countries to get closer again.

- This will probably take some time...

- You're right. I'd like to help make connections. In Russia I am familiar with influential people. In Novosibirsk, where I lived for some time, people in the arts, especially ballet, have a privilege: they meet people who usually don’t meet each other. You are talking to the head of the police, the head of the mafia, the head of the largest enterprise - in general, with everyone who has power... I don’t really have any acquaintances in Ukraine, yet... That’s why I’m going to return there.

— We Czechs also have fairly fresh memories of Russian expansion. Not even a hundred years have passed since we were occupied by the troops of the Warsaw Pact countries under Soviet leadership. Weren't you horrified when war broke out in eastern Ukraine?

— I’m from the Russian-speaking part of the country, and the people there are absolutely the same as those who live in Russia. In addition, I think that, for example, even between Russia and America there are no particular differences. I firmly believe that we must abolish borders. I get tired of showing visas everywhere, and when I come somewhere, I don’t care what it’s called: Europe, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine or the USA...

— You say that you don’t feel at home in London, but you live there with your girlfriend, soloist of the Royal Ballet Natalya Osipova. What do you think about Brexit?

“Again, what happened was not what I wanted.” In general, everyone around me is unhappy with this.

— Could you compare the conditions created for the art of ballet in different corners peace? In the BBC documentary "Dancer" you say that dancers in London cannot afford to rent a flat, and that there are four or five of them living in one flat...

“When I danced in London, none of us could even afford a normal dinner. I worked like a horse. I was a soloist, but I couldn't buy a car, let alone extravagant things. The same thing is starting in Russia. Previously, it was customary there to give an apartment to those who were part of the troupe. However, open-ended contracts are being abandoned, and contracts are being extended for only a year, including at the Bolshoi Theater and the Stanislavsky Theater. It is not easy for a person of art to live in Russia. Just like a Royal Ballet dancer. In my time, the dancers there received a thousand pounds a month, and in my first year as a soloist I was paid two and a half thousand.

- It was main reason to leave the Royal Ballet?

- Yes and no. Money didn’t interest me that much; I was young and didn’t particularly need it. But it seemed strange to me that dancers are rarely seen on TV. I asked myself why they don’t appear, for example, in advertising? I think this is explained by ballet politics. We were constantly told that agents - bad people that they will only suck money out of us. Today in the world of ballet everything is decided by a few directors of ballet stages. And who else should protect our interests if not our agents? If you are not visible in the media, you do not earn enough money, which means you can be easily manipulated. I think that dancers (not only considering the time spent on preparation) deserve the same recognition as, for example, actors, not to mention athletes. It has seemed like this to me for a long time, but the idea that I should change everything came to my mind only after a conversation with David LaChapelle. He asked me: “How is it possible that you don’t have your own manager? For example, at opera singers have their own agents in different countries, then why shouldn’t dance stars have them too?” So I recently created my own project...

— Do you mean Project Polunin?

- Yes. I even came into conflict with my own employees. They told me: “What are you doing? Why do you want to pay dancers more when they are usually paid £300 a week?” Yes, this is the standard, but this is why none of the star dancers, even at the end of their careers, can afford to buy their own apartment.

— The premiere of Project Polunin took place in London two months ago. You have returned to the London ballet stage after five years. When you left, they wrote about you that you behaved unbridledly, that you could not be relied upon. How have you been received now?

— The Take Me To Church video helped me a lot personally. Before this, there were quite strange rumors about me.

— It is known that people in the arts can behave wildly, and promoters and the public are attracted to this.

- But this does not apply to the ballet world. If you behave this way, then you are going against the system. The people who organize ballet events, that is, theater directors, do what is good for them, not what is good for the performers. Two hours after I spoke to the director of the Royal Ballet, he made a statement that I was an unreliable dancer, and at that moment I had not even really realized that I was leaving... Moreover, after many years spent in the UK, the my visa, what to me, a foreigner not from European Union, created big problems. Suddenly I found myself in the country without a residence permit, although I had lived there for almost ten years. I thought I would go to New York, but they were afraid of fairy tales about me, so in the end I was happy when I received an invitation from Russia. Recently in Japan they asked me about this again, saying: “You are a real professional.” This is a strange half-light.

— In the final part of the performance Project Polunin, you dance with Natalya Osipova in a composition called Narcissus and Echo. Is this about you?

- That's what the London critics thought. Honestly, it wasn't even my idea. The play is based on the idea that various artists fulfill their own desires. Concerning ancient Greek myth about Narcissus and Echo, then Ilan Eshkeri fulfilled such a wish (London composer who has collaborated with, for example, David Gilmour, Annie Lennox and Amon Tobin; is the author of the music for documentaries David Attenborough, and is now preparing a large-scale ballet project with Polunin and LaChapelle - approx. ed.). Eshkeri has long wanted to compose music on this topic. My project was born quite difficult, because several “egos” had to work together at once. Yes, don't laugh, bringing so many personalities together so that they work well together is probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to organize.

— Does David LaChapelle have a big ego?

Context

Ballet: work with passion

Americans pay tribute to Russian art

Big changes in ballet Bolshoi Theater

— You described the moment when LaChapelle offered you cooperation at Claridge’s London Hotel as follows: “I was completely at the bottom and lost. Then I was dark stripe in my life. I hated ballet and knew it would be my last dance. There was no doubt about it." And suddenly worldwide famous photographer invited you to film on the Hawaiian island of Maui...

- He wonderful person, and he was incredibly easy to work with. He knew how to listen well to the dancer's needs. We still keep in touch. And we value each other's opinions.

— Was LaChapelle the person who opened the door for you in Los Angeles to Hollywood film producers?

— Rather, what brought me closer to them was the fact that he made a video for Take Me To Church with me. This clip really helped me. At parties in Hollywood it happened that some guy would come up to me famous director or an actor and said: “I’m incredibly glad to see you, my wife told me about your video.” It was exactly the same in London, where they suddenly began to accept me again. Representatives of the Air Force wanted to participate in the film “Dancer”, which was already being created. It's actually incredible: one little thing like a four-minute clip and suddenly so much happens...

— You recently starred in a film with Johnny Depp. What is it like to exchange the ballet stage for the world of film cameras?

— Cinema is a wonderful medium. When I left the Royal Ballet, the natural question I asked was: what next? I didn't want to remain just a dancer. Five years ago, Gabriela, the producer of the film Dancer, invited me to study at an acting school, but then I still didn’t want to completely give up my dancing career. And now, about six months ago, such a chance appeared, literally out of nowhere... I even starred in two American films at the same time. It's hard to say which one is better. In the first, in "Red Sparrow" with Jennifer Lawrence in leading role, I played a dancer. At the same time, Kenneth Branagh approached me with an offer to star in the film “Murder on the Orient Express.” (a new version the many times filmed detective story of Agatha Christie; The premiere of the film is scheduled for the fall of this year - approx. ed.) along with Johnny Depp. Branagh suggested it to me, a man who really wanted to be an actor but had no training. On the first day I came to the set, and already in the first scene, which was filmed on the train, Willem Dafoe was sitting opposite me, and next to me was Derek Jacobi, at a distance was Michelle Pfeiffer, and behind me was Penelope Cruz. They had no idea that this was my first real movie scene! Such legends! Kenneth simply said, “Let’s start!” And I played without preparation. It's like they threw you into the water like a four-year-old and told you, "Swim!" Only then did I understand the huge difference between ballet and acting in films, where every slightest movement means incredibly much.

- Probably the only one famous dancer who has achieved success on the silver screen is Mikhail Baryshnikov.

“But he was still a dancer.” I want to someday be considered not a dancer who plays, but a real actor... I have already received the following excellent offer. Acting makes me happy and helps me develop in the ballet - I hope you won't be offended if I say so - industry.

— You say that acting makes you happy. What makes you unhappy?

- When nothing happens. It's horrible. When I have nothing to do one day, I feel depressed. I need to be constantly busy with something, to fight for something...

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