Sergei Polunin dances in the dunes to the song In Your Room by Depeche Mode. The clip was made by Anton Corbijn. | Video: Anton Corbijn

Polunin danced for the first time four years ago at the National Theater, where he also presented a film describing the rise and fall of Dancer. Last year, with the Satori project, Forum Karlín sold out five times in a row, adapted to the smaller capacity of the hall. At that time, despite the high price of around 5,000 crowns, more than 5,000 spectators bought tickets.

Current tickets are even more expensive, depending on the distance from the stage costs 4950 or 9950 crowns, tickets for seats in the first rows of each of the four sections located around the central stage are sold by the organizers for 29 950 crowns.

Sergei Polunin was born in November 1989 in Ukraine. From four to eight years he trained ballet at the local academy, the next four years he attended the State Choreographic Institute in Kiev. He lived in Great Britain from the age of 13, and at the age of nineteen he became the youngest soloist of the Royal Ballet in London. At the age of 23, he was appointed artistic director of the ensemble.

Less than three years later, however, he left him and the media wrote about his wild lifestyle full of parties, alcohol and cocaine. Polunin said he was ending the dance because he wanted to pursue acting. He loves classical dance, but the environment in which even the most famous move almost discouraged him from pursuing another career and was only saved by an escape into the world of film, he said.

Eventually, Polunin moved to Russia and continued to dance. The wilder part of his life was summed up in the film Dancer by director Steven Cantor.

“Twenty-nine-year-old Polunin is an extraordinary dancer, compared to Rudolf Nureev or Mikhail Baryshnikov, no interest in performing lies in the performer’s artistic abilities,” wrote dance critic Jana Návratová about Aktuálně.cz, according to whom Polunin also attracts attention with controversial behavior. and statements, especially on social networks.

The choreography for the song Take Me To Church by the songwriter Hozier was recorded by David LaChapelle. | Video: David LaChapelle Studio

“The life destinies of this young man do not interfere with romantic heroes, they are full of peaks and downs and, above all, tense emotionality. It is magical on stage, but problematic outside of it, “added dance critic Helena Kazárová in 3–3 Polunin’s performance at the Karlín Forum.

It is said that Polunin made the decision to continue dancing during the shooting of the music video by American photographer and artist David LaChapell. to the song Take Me to Church. He made it famous with a wider audience, he still has almost 29 million views on the Internet. Originally we have to say goodbye to dance.

The film Dancer from 2016 should have a sequel that tells what has happened in the dancer’s life in recent years and how he returned to ballet. It also includes clip to the song Depeche Mode called In Your Room from 1993, directed by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn. He is known for working with groups such as Roxette, Depeche Mode, U2 or Nirvana, he has also directed a biographical film about Ian Curtis Control.

The clip was shot in the vast sand dunes of Terchelling in the Netherlands. According to the creators, it is supposed to evoke Polunin’s inner struggles between his personal life and the ballet world from which he left, and yet he was at the peak of his powers. According to the creators, the choreography brings a vision of a stormy character casting out his demons on a harsh and ruthless background.

“Dance, nature and music have other structures, but very deep meaning. I’m glad I met Anton and suggested he dance to the song Depeche Mode, to the music I love and which I listened to for many years,” Polunin said of the choreography. prepared by Ross Freddy Ray. The clip has less than 300,000 views on YouTube so far.