Polunin resigns from RB

[Ian Macmillan]

Mr Polunin's delphic tweets continue, it seems. "Immortality is leaving a life worth remembering" was sent late last night but, as I believe he is due at a Gala in Japan in a few days time, I doubt that he plans anything overly apocalyptic before then.

[Ian Macmillan]

Well folks, here he is again, in the Guardian - quitting by 26 etc etc:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/mar/06/sergei-polunin-give-up-ballet?CMP=twt_gu

[annamk]

Assuming Polunin's comments are sincere this interview is so interesting especially this

 

"He (Polunin) says he wishes ballet companies would do a month of rehearsal and then 30 performances of the same show, "so you're just enjoying being on stage – not rehearse for a month then have one show, rehearse for another month and change the show. What's the point?"

"So you would repeat a show 30 times?" asks a baffled Putrov."

 

which is exactly the opposite of what I'd expect and it seems the reason he quit is far more prosaic than some of the speculations: in spite of his extraordinary talent he just didn't LOVE dancing. Very sad for us the audience.

[mijosh]

Sad,sad,sad!

[Paul Arrowsmith]

"He (Polunin) says he wishes ballet companies would do a month of rehearsal and then 30 performances of the same show, "so you're just enjoying being on stage – not rehearse for a month then have one show, rehearse for another month and change the show. What's the point?"

"So you would repeat a show 30 times?" asks a baffled Putrov."

 

 

Not about Polunin specifically, but last year I asked Kevin O'Hare whether principals got enough enough performance opportunities in a role. He said with the amount of rehearsal and coaching that principals receive the actual low number of shows wasn't an issue. Every performance remains special.

[Pas de Quatre]

For many years RB principals have complained that they don't get enough opportunities to perform. Is the company perhaps top heavy with too many principals?

 

It may well be that a company like ENB would suit Polunin better - everyone dances all the time! It seems to me he quit because he loves dancing and in particular performing, and felt constrained at RB.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Pas de Quatre

[annamicro]

Isn't the James Dean solo actually choreographed by Valentino Zucchetti, on Sergei request?

 

This is not the only strange and unexpected thing, the two interviews make many thoughts popping out....

[Ian Macmillan]

More (now in the Telegraph) from what looks like the same "Men in Motion" press preview:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/9126611/Sergei-Polunin-the-James-Dean-of-the-ballet-world.html

[Nina G.]

Pas de Quatre 72: For many years RB principals have complained that they don't get enough opportunities to perform. Is the company perhaps top heavy with too many principals?

 

The Company is bottom heavy too. Maybe the Company is just too big? One can only imagine how frustrating it must be for most of the (UK trained) Artists and First Artists having to wait for years before being given any mentionable opportunity (except the foreign dancers)...

[aileen]

This is my first post. I wonder if Polunin realises how damaging these interviews are to him although they provide good publicity for Putrov's new Men in Motion programme. He effectively says that he doesn't like partnering ballerinas! Does he really have a future in classical or even contemporary ballet? He could I suppose join an all male troupe but I'm sure they still do plenty of classes and rehearsals neither of which he likes.

 

[Ian Macmillan]

Aileen, welcome! I doubt that Mr Polunin knows any better than you or I do what he really wants, and it will be no surprise to me if he sinks below our collective horizon as quickly as he rose above it. And I find myself saying this as one who reported in rave terms about his performance in his final RBS show. It's a sad, sorry business .... but the world will move on.

[Ann Williams]

Yes. I think the bottom line is that he's extremely immature in everyday life in contrast to his calm, commanding stage presence (I'll never forget his first Solor at the age of only 19 - or was it 18?). Ian, I think your comment that he will likely sink below our horizon as quickly as he rose above it is spot on. But worse things happen at sea, after all....

[Don Q Fan]

^^ well said. Sad but true.

[alison]

He could I suppose join an all male troupe but I'm sure they still do plenty of classes and rehearsals neither of which he likes.

 

Welcome, Aileen.

 

I was reflecting on this yesterday: most careers, I'd think, tend to require an awful lot of unseen preparatory work beforehand. Business people don't just win contracts and things - they spend days or even weeks working on Powerpoint presentations, research and so on first; teachers don't just go into a classroom and teach what comes off the top of their head - they have lesson plans to prepare, marking to do (and not infrequently stay up past midnight doing it, from what I hear from my teacher friends); athletes spend all year training, working on their fitness and what have you just for a few seconds or minutes in competition; professional people of all types have to spend a lot of time reading up on developments in their field so that they can keep abreast of changes; even singers and musicians on TV talent shows - those supposedly overnight rises to the top - probably have to spend a lot of time on rehearsing and/or writing songs. Much of this may be mundane, and tedious, and seemingly unproductive, but it's necessary - and ballet's really not so different in some ways. Sure, I'd love it if I could just hit the email button, send a job off to my client and sit back and wait for them to pay me - and just think of all the free time I'd have - rather than wasting all that time checking my facts, doing background research and everything to enable me to do the job properly in the first place, but the world ain't like that. As my decorator is fond of telling me, it's all in the preparation: get that right and the job will come out well; cut corners, and it'll show in the finished work.

 

Edited to add last sentence.

Edited March 9, 2012 by alison

[aileen]

Agree with everything said above. I do though still have quite a lot of sympathy for him. He's been on the ballet treadmill since he was a young child and only took up ballet as a means of escaping poverty. His natural talent, competitive nature and the knowledge that his family were making huge sacrifices drove him to succeed but what has come across in previous interviews as well as the most recent ones is that he never really had a love of dance. We the public are a fickle lot and I agree with Ann that he will soon be forgotten as other stars appear. I for one am a huge fan of Vadim Muntagirov over at ENB. He seems to be a complete contrast to Polunin in that he enjoys dancing and loves dancing with his regular partner Daria Klimentova (I hope he enjoys dancing with the other ballerinas as well!)

[Sim]

He just sounds like a very confused young man who can't cope with the talent he was given. How ironic....some people train and try their whole lives and would love to be where he is and never will be; he is there, but doesn't want to be. A real pity....not only will I miss him, but also the partnership with Lauren Cuthbertson that I think would have developed into something very special, as it was well on the way to doing.

[Don Q Fan]

He just sounds like a very confused young man who can't cope with the talent he was given. How ironic....some people train and try their whole lives and would love to be where he is and never will be; he is there, but doesn't want to be. A real pity....not only will I miss him, but also the partnership with Lauren Cuthbertson that I think would have developed into something very special, as it was well on the way to doing.

 

Exactly.

[Jane S]

Just out of interest, compare this, from another young man who shocked the Royal Ballet by leaving at a time he seemed to have been given everything::

 

'I had had enough,' he said. 'I was frustrated all the time, sick of the discipline, burnt out. I think that maybe I never really wanted to dance; it was just my job. I suppose I was a bit of a prima donna... I wanted to see what life was like on the other side of the fence. I wanted to stay up late, drink as much wine as I liked, eat anything I fancied.'

 

This was Jonathan Cope, in an interview for the Independent when he decided he'd like to be a dancer after all, after 2 years completely out of the ballet world. So maybe we'll see Polunin back one day, too.

[alison]

We can but hope ... After all, what happens when you realise that the grass isn't actually greener, just a different shade of green, on the other side of the fence?

[Anjuli_Bai]

I remember Thai Babilonia (silver Olympic medalist in pairs ice skating) when she quit the Ice Capades she said at some point she should be able to change her mind about a decision she made when she was six years old. She also mentioned that she really wanted to leave much sooner but felt beholden to all those people who had given so much to support her training.

 

While it is certainly true that most all occupations/vocations make demands of training, time and effort - the ballet is one of those in which the participant is always exposed; one is always on view whether it is in the classroom, rehearsal hall or stage. And so much of the time - in fact all the time - at the mercy of others making decisions.

 

In a career such as an attorney at law the training is demanding but it is not from childhood. By the time a dancer reaches the Company stage - she/he has been dancing and preparing for approximately 10-15 yrs. Preparation to be an attorney is demanding but one can sometimes do it in the comfort of home or alone in an office. One can hope to reach the point of success where one is not at the behest of others such as which cases/clients to take, what kind of law to practice or with whom to associate. A dancer, almost no matter how successful will never have real control of her/his dance goals; what ballets to dance, costumes to wear, choreographers with whom to work, who teaches class, status within the company. It is a very rare career for a dancer to pick and chose as a sole operator. Even Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Margot Fonteyn, etc., could only control their activities to an extent. And then there's the spectre of injury.

 

Which of us was not confused or unhappy at some point in our youth? I wish him every success in whatever he choses to do.

[annamicro]

I wish him every success in whatever he choses to do.

 

At the moment, nothing of dramatically new and shocking :-) : after his fireworks in Raymonda pdd last Sunday, he is just rehearsing a new solo choreographed by Valentino Zucchetti for the shows planned next week...

 

http://balletnews.co.uk/sergei-polunin-takes-on-james-dean/

[mijosh]

According to the man himself,Sergei will be dancing his scheduled two performances of La Sylphide in June.He will also be guesting with the Royal next season. In his own words:"I have to eat"

[Ian Macmillan]

In his own words:"I have to eat"

 

But of course ..... and as true today as on the day that he ............... walked out? Perhaps he'd had lunch?

[aileen]

I'm very surprised by this news, especially after his comment in the press last week about his visa. A large wealthy company such as The Royal Ballet should never have allowed itself to get into the position of being so dependent on a single dancer. In my opinion it says a great deal about the decisions which the company has made regarding the hiring and development of dancers

[annamicro]

A large wealthy company such as The Royal Ballet should never have allowed itself to get into the position of being so dependent on a single dancer.

 

I don't think Royal Ballet is so "wealthy" of talent to close the door for a dancer as Polunin is. I'm not indulgent: I think he did some things in a very unpleasant way and also said a good number of silly ones. But he is young and seems also often ill advised by interested people.

I think a second chance is mandatory and I hope that he and the company will find a better way to work together. No excuses for Sergei's mistake, but also for Royal Ballet management ones: let's close that page and open a new one.

Good luck!

[bangorballetboy]

I'm very surprised by this news, especially after his comment in the press last week about his visa. A large wealthy company such as The Royal Ballet should never have allowed itself to get into the position of being so dependent on a single dancer.

 

I don't think it is (or was) so. IMO there have been a number of management mistakes made over the past couple of seasons but nothing suggests that the RB was dependant on one single dancer.

[aileen]

As far as I could see SP was cast in the leading role in every production this season, which seemed to be part of the problem as far as he was concerned in that it did not give him as much time as he wanted to guest elsewhere or even to have a bit of a break. I have noticed that many of the other principals seem to have breaks in their schedules when they are dancing elsewhere or doing other things. If the RB had not been so dependent (I said "so dependent" not "dependent" above) on SP then why did they have to bring in Marcelo Gomes (whom I personally enjoyed seeing)? IMO they should have rehearsed three casts for The Dream anyway

[bangorballetboy]

As far as I could see SP was cast in the leading role in every production this season, which seemed to be part of the problem as far as he was concerned in that it did not give him as much time as he wanted to guest elsewhere or even to have a bit of a break. I have noticed that many of the other principals seem to have breaks in their schedules when they are dancing elsewhere or doing other things. If the RB had not been so dependent (I said "so dependent" not "dependent" above) on SP then why did they have to bring in Marcelo Gomes (whom I personally enjoyed seeing)? IMO they should have rehearsed three casts for The Dream anyway

 

I don't think that "so dependent" is right either. Barring the Dream (for which there were covers - why a cover wasn't used then is another matter), there has been no issue with a replacement for Polunin in his scheduled roles. Personally speaking I think Bonelli on Saturday night was much better than I imagined Polunin would have been.

 

A number of other principals were also cast in a very large number of leading roles this season: Pennefather, McRae (and, subject to his operation, Bonelli), Rojo, Nunez, Lamb. Very interesting to note that Polunin was not cast in Prince of the Pagodas.

 

As I saw it, Polunin was being shown off and given a number of opportunities not often available to young dancers. This is something which should have been for the mutual benefit of the company and the dancer.

 

Also interesting to note that Lamb was scheduled to be first night cast for three full-lengths in a row at the beginning of the season.

 

My understanding is that there were covers for Dream. Why a cover was not used is a different matter.

[aileen]

I am only really thinking of the men. There are or were 10 male principals (one of whom is a guest) - you have only mentioned three- plus a large number of experienced male soloists. IMO SP was overburdened because of his exceptional physical qualities (good height coupled with great technique) and the publicity surrounding the emergence of such a talented male dancer at such a young age (and RBS trained as well). It seems to me that there may have been a lack of communication between SP and the RB in that the RB thought that they were keeping him happy by giving him so many roles whereas he wanted fewer and more time off. There are still the issues of SP not liking the daily discipline of classes and rehearsals and, if his comment to the press last week truly reflects what he feels, his lack of enthusiasm for partnering the ballerinas, which may explain why IMO there was little chemistry between him and Rojo when they performed together at the Pavlova gala last week. It's hard to know how those issues can be resolved

[Pas de Quatre]

I've just read a review in The Times of Romeo and Juliet - it was very complimentary about Melissa Hamilton but mentioned that she will only dance Juliet once this season. How do RB expect dancers to develop roles if they only dance them once every few months. It seems a total lack of planning that some dancers are overburdened and others don't dance enough.

[John Mallinson]

I've just read a review in The Times of Romeo and Juliet - it was very complimentary about Melissa Hamilton but mentioned that she will only dance Juliet once this season. How do RB expect dancers to develop roles if they only dance them once every few months. It seems a total lack of planning that some dancers are overburdened and others don't dance enough.

That's usually the way of it when relatively junior members of the company (Hamilton is a Soloist) first take principal roles. It must be very frustrating for them, but even more so for more senior members at the sub-Principal level who are overtaken in this way and haven't had such an opportunity. If Hamilton had another performance, given that none of the seven other Juliets this season (all Principals) has more than two, who would you leave out? Her time will come.

[alison]

How do RB expect dancers to develop roles if they only dance them once every few months. It seems a total lack of planning that some dancers are overburdened and others don't dance enough.

Seems to me that it hasn't been lack of planning that's been the problem this season. You had a situation last autumn where virtually all the Auroras/Florimunds were also doubling up in the Manons, while other principals who have danced one or both roles in the past were doing neither. And the problem in your first sentence is just as valid for principals: you get - usually, and if you're lucky - two bites at a role per season, and then the ballet may not be back for 2 or 3 years. So your first performance each time is probably a matter of getting your head round how you did the role 3 years ago, and then your second one you might actually be able to develop a bit. And then 2 or 3 years later the cycle simply repeats itself. It's no way to really improve and deepen your interpretation. But it was ever thus at the RB - for the 23 years I've been going there and even way before, from what I gather from more "historical" publications I've read. And realistically, it seems that for most full-length ballets the market can't take more than a couple of performances by each pairing, unless a certain Cuban is involved - and he isn't much any more.

[Aruna S]

There are still the issues of SP not liking the daily discipline of classes and rehearsals and, if his comment to the press last week truly reflects what he feels, his lack of enthusiasm for partnering the ballerinas, which may explain why IMO there was little chemistry between him and Rojo when they performed together at the Pavlova gala last week. It's hard to know how those issues can be resolved

 

Actually Rojo was the only ballerina he specifically mentioned as being someone he enjoyed working with.