Sergey Polunin is the new star of Russian ballet

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many fans call him the new Rudolf Nureyev. Classical ballet has high hopes for the artist, and major glossy publications regularly invite the young talent for photo shoots … We are talking about Sergei Polunin, the new star of Russian ballet. In this article, you will be presented with his brief biography.

Childhood

Like most dancers, Sergei Polunin got into ballet at an early age. While his peers were playing in kindergarten, a 4-year-old boy was doing gymnastics at a sports school. The teachers immediately noticed Sergei's incredible plasticity. And later it turned out that little Polunin has an impeccable hearing. This predetermined the fate of the future ballet dancer. At the age of 8, the parents transferred the boy to a choreographic school.

Until the age of 10, Sergei Polunin lived with his family in Kherson (Ukraine). Then the parents realized that for the further development of the boy's career, it was necessary to go to the capital. Sergey and his mother went to Kyiv, and his father stayed in Kherson and sent them money for existence. A talented and receptive boy developedvery fast.

Moving to London

At the age of 13, the young talent went to conquer London. This opportunity was provided to Sergei by the Nureyev Foundation. Its representatives noticed the boy's talent and singled out Polunin from the crowd of young dancers hungry for fame.

Since Sergei devoted all his childhood to ballet, there was no time left for communication with peers. Therefore, the boy could not be called sociable. The artist himself says that it is only thanks to his isolation that he is best able to convey on stage the feelings of romantic and lonely heroes. The extraordinary appearance of the young man also contributes to this.

Sergey Polunin, whose personal life is described below, began his career in the most prestigious theater in the world - Covent Garden. Already at the age of 19 he became its leading soloist. It was the first such case in the history of the London theater. But it was then that Polunin realized that he had not achieved much yet …

Return to Russia

In an interview with Vogue magazine, Sergei said: “You know, in our country they say that a Russian can leave Russia, but the Russian’s Russia never will.” And then the young man starred in a photo shoot for this publication. His predecessor, Rudolf Nureyev, did exactly the same.

Dancer Sergei Polunin really got bored in London. Of course, he achieved the position of soloist of Covent Garden, but the young man wanted even more fame. In addition, no matter how prestigious the performances in England are, the dream of any Russian artistballet remains the Bolshoi Theater with its behind-the-scenes intrigues and high-profile premieres.

New performances

In one of the interviews, the dancer spoke about national approaches to ballet art: “In Russia, no one will listen to people who do not have status. In England, their opinion is valued. The whole system is based on this. There are no individuals, there is only a team. In terms of human relations, this is fine, but it greatly harms art. A talented artist is not allowed to open up and is kept on the same level with others. Sergei believes that only in Russia will he be able to fully realize his talent. Polunin got a job as a prime minister in the musical theater of Stanislavsky. And next season, his dream will come true - the dancer will start joint projects with the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters.

Those who have not been to the artist's performances should hurry to the box office. After all, very soon the young man will end his career. 26 years is exactly the age at which Sergei Polunin plans to leave. Ballet, according to the dancer, is very traumatic: “Until 32, everything is fine and fun, the body has time to recover, but after 28 you need to increase the load, otherwise you will quickly lose shape. And in adulthood, performances are generally given with great difficulty.”

Private life

The personal life of a dancer is directly related to ballet. After all, Sergei literally lives in the theater, completely surrendering to his beloved work. But this is only one of the reasons why representatives of ballet art meet … When SergeiPolunin lived in London, he was in a relationship with Helen Crawford, an artist with the Royal Ballet. But before his departure, the young man decided to part with her. Polunin himself declares that he only likes dancers: “I'm already used to the ballet standard. Other women seem strange to me - they don't have enough muscle.”

Now Polunin is in Moscow. Whether he lives alone in his small apartment next to the theater or not, no one knows. Sergei does not like to talk about his personal life. Nevertheless, he does not hide the fact that things are going pretty badly with this. In a recent conversation with Mickey Rourke for The Interview, the dancer ironically noted: "My reputation is not very good, which is why it's difficult with girls."

By the way, Sergei Polunin made a tattoo on his back for one of his former lovers. It was the inscription "I'm sorry, Tiger cub." That's what the dancer called the girl who left him. By his act, Sergei wanted to return her. The young man did not specify what he was guilty of before the former passion. But he is probably the one to blame, because Polunin's reputation is “not very good.”