Lifeafterballet Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 I may be behind the times but I’ve just stumbled across this on Netflix. I found it very difficult to watch and upsetting at times. I guess the sacrifices and the consequences of ballet on a individual and family resonate with me, even if not on such a large scale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Box Ballet Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I agree, it should actually be viewed as a cautionary tale. The dangers of (perceived) family pressure to succeed. They literally sacrificed everything for him which is admirable but that in turn placed so much pressure on him to repay that ‘debt’. After such a focussed ‘childhood’ is it any surprise that he went so off the rails in his early adult years?https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48433923 https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jan/15/sergei-polunin-dropped-paris-opera-ballet-swan-lake-homophobic-rant https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/mar/07/sergei-polunin-sacked-putin-tattoo-interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotadanceMa Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I watched this film when it first came out and then this week on Netflix. I found it extremely moving and sad, it highlighted so much of what parents often worry about on this forum. what stuns me every time I watch clips of him dancing on YouTube and the pieces shown in the film with my ballet child, is just how extraordinary a dancer he was. He was absolutely out of this world. I can honestly say I have seen no Principal male in the RB company anywhere near as good as Polunin since that year he was made a Principal. For me he was breathtaking I wish I had seen him dance live. Lots of good male Principals but for me he had that something, like Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Dowell, Hallberg, Acosta. The film does indeed focus in very intensely on all the many potential pitfalls of the ballet world. The scene at the end where he is dancing the Jerome Robbins piece in front of his parents is so heartbreaking; he looks emancipated and so broken. Nothing he ever did again after he officially left ballet ever looked like it did before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallerinaMum13 Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 I've just watched this. Very moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing unicorn Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Well I can now say I’ll look forward to watching this as my very dear friend has just posted me the dvd of it. Thank you so much lubbly 💗💗💗 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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