Sergei Polunin - news and discussions

[alison]

Oh well, I'm glad it wasn't just me

[billboyd]

Sergei will be interviewed on the BBC Today programme - today....

[billboyd]

1 March - BBC Radio 4  7.40am - 10 minute slot

[aileen]

His performances at Sadler's Wells are completely sold out.

[FLOSS]

I don't think that Polunin is ever going to give a consistent account about how he feels about being a dancer for the simple reason that he does not really understand it himself. He is one of the most gifted dancers who I have ever seen but he has ambivalent feelings about being a dancer. He has all the gifts that a great dancer needs except the one which Jonathan Cope said was the most essential and that is the burning need to dance. At the end of the day being born with the perfect body for a dancer, having amazing technical facility, great interpretative skills and musicality will only take you so far. The burning desire and absolute need to dance will take you as far, if not further.

 

At one time the pushy ballet mother who decided on, and mapped out the career of her offspring was something of a cliche. In Polunin it seems we have an example of one of the victims of the ballet mother. It  would appear that Polunin began his training because his mother thought that it would be a career which would be of benefit to the family. He knows the sacrifices that his family made so that he could train and he probably feels responsible for the fact that his parents split up. Knowing that you are good at something which you don't particularly want to do; knowing the sacrifices which were made for you to enable you to do it; feeling that you need to repay the debt and knowing that the only way that you can do that is by pursuing a career which was wished on you by one of your parents seems to me to be an almost impossible burden for anyone to bear.It also seems to be a more than sufficient explanation for all of his erratic behaviour including the contradictory statements which he has made about his time at the Royal Ballet and his long term plans.

Edited March 1, 2017 by FLOSS

[Jan McNulty]

Floss, you have captured my thoughts and posted them so very articulately.  Thank you!

[Vanartus]

Agree!

[MAB]

I find FLOSS's post cruel and unfeeling towards Polunin's mother and family.  I have personally seen extreme poverty in Russia and have been told the situation in Ukraine is even worse, a middle class as such barely exists there,   It is easy to criticise when you have only known a comfortable life, perhaps FLOSS would think differently if he/she had ever struggled to feed a family.

[bangorballetboy]

I find FLOSS's post cruel and unfeeling towards Polunin's mother and family.  I have personally seen extreme poverty in Russia and have been told the situation in Ukraine is even worse, a middle class as such barely exists there,   It is easy to criticise when you have only known a comfortable life, perhaps FLOSS would think differently if he/she had ever struggled to feed a family.

 

I'm pretty sure FLOSS is only paraphrasing what Polunin himself has said many times.

[Jacqueline]

I find FLOSS's post cruel and unfeeling towards Polunin's mother and family. I have personally seen extreme poverty in Russia and have been told the situation in Ukraine is even worse, a middle class as such barely exists there, It is easy to criticise when you have only known a comfortable life, perhaps FLOSS would think differently if he/she had ever struggled to feed a family.

I agree. I was going to post that in my opinion, Polunin's mother should be cut some slack. She was undoubtedly ambitious for her son and wanted him to realise his potential. But from what I have read, this needs to be seen in the context of the hardship and poverty of their circumstances. His mother's "pushing" is a million miles from the horror stories we hear in the more comfortable west, that often result in melt down and early career fail.

We are all products of our upbringing to varying degrees. When we are feeling vulnerable or self pitying, it is easy to look back and perhaps misremember events or exagerate their awfulness. It is almost always the mother's fault regardless. At what point do we grow up and take responsibility for our own behaviours and stop looking for someone to blame. To be able to look at one's life to date with maturity and insight, rather than the teenager's wail of it's not fair, people are mean to me.....

There is an article from 2012 in 1843-1843 magazine, called A Dancer's Demons. It provides considerable detail about

the Polunin family dynamic and makes his mother very much a real person, with all her faults but doing what she thought was her best for her son who from an early age, clearly had something special.

I cannot supply a link to the article but as before, it is easy to find if you google Sergei Polunin.

 

I

Edited March 1, 2017 by Jacqueline

[bridiem]

I find FLOSS's post cruel and unfeeling towards Polunin's mother and family.  I have personally seen extreme poverty in Russia and have been told the situation in Ukraine is even worse, a middle class as such barely exists there,   It is easy to criticise when you have only known a comfortable life, perhaps FLOSS would think differently if he/she had ever struggled to feed a family.

 

I see nothing cruel at all in FLOSS's post, and I don't think it's fair to make assumptions about people's personal/financial circumstances based on an entirely reasonable post. Whatever the motivation/s of Polunin's mother, which may indeed have been entirely good and understandable, the effect of what happened was clearly of very mixed benefit to her son who was put in a very unusual situation for a child. I know this happens sometimes with 'ballet' children; but perhaps it's only because Polunin was/is also so talented that we are hearing the consequences for him. There may be many other such children who suffer without the success and fame that has come his way and so we never know about it.

[FLOSS]

Sorry MAB. I was not setting out to vilify Polunin's mother. I think that most parents try to do what they believe is best for their children. In some societies career decisions are made by the extended family rather than a child's parents.Whoever decides on your career and that you should become a doctor or a dentist when you want to be something completely different you are likely to be unhappy if you pursue the career selected for you and your family is going to feel most unhappy if you don't. It is even worse if you know that your family have made considerable sacrifices to get you into the institution which will educate or train you. In those circumstances you are likely to feel considerable guilt if you don't pursue the career path selected for you but the knowledge of those sacrifices won't make it any easier for you to do so.. .

 

I think that Polunin's mother has done no more than the ambitious middle class parents who used to think that it would be a good idea if their children studied law and persuaded them to study the subject at university. When I was a student the dropout rate among law students was incredibly high because many of them were studying a subject which their parents had selected for them because of the prospect of a secure career rather than a subject which interested the student concerned. I think that most of those students had a tough time with their parents when they announced their decision to change courses on discovering that law was not for them.But they at least had the prospect of finding a subject and a career which interested them and they did not have to feel guilty about the sacrifices which their parents had made for them nor were they made to do so.

 

I don't think that Polunin's mother is a terrible person or that parents should not be ambitious for their children but it seems to me  that whatever his parent's motives were Polunin is carrying the impossible burden of their expectations and sacrifices and what he sees as his duty towards them. Parents often say "I only wanted what I thought was best for you". It is wonderful when what the parents want coincides with the child's own wishes and very difficult when it does not do so. I once worked with a man who had always wanted to be an electronic engineer but was forced to become a lawyer by his father. He was  quite successful but I think that he spent most of his life regretting not being able to pursue the career he wanted. I don't think that he .was ever happy at work. A nice comfortably off middle class man from a comfortable middle class background who was profoundly unhappy with what he felt he had been forced to do. He could not see any way out either. 

Edited March 1, 2017 by FLOSS

[Sim]

I see nothing cruel at all in FLOSS's post,

 

Neither do I.  I think it is a fair and well-balanced assessment, based on what Polunin himself has said in the past.  No matter how understandable Mrs Polunin's intentions might have been, what happened has, it would seem, damaged her son for life.  Look at the self-harming, the tattoos, and his oft-stated misery that his father had to go and work abroad, the problems he had being sent to England as a boy with not a word of English, the fact that he felt he missed a proper youth because of the discipline required of ballet, the fact that he resented being used to do something he never really wanted to do (these are things I have read/heard him say in interviews over the years).....I feel so very sorry for him and his parents.  It was obviously a very difficult situation all round. 

 

I remember it was a long time before his mother came to see him dance at the RB, but he seems to have made his peace with her now.  Maybe being older and more experienced, he understands the parental situation more. 

 

I truly hope that this wonderful man and artist is on the way to finding peace and fulfilment.  As FLOSS says, he is one of the best dancers I have ever seen and the world would truly be robbed if he stopped dancing any time soon.  I am really looking forward to seeing him at SW in a couple of weeks, and I still dream that he will come back and dance at the ROH soon as well.

[Scheherezade]

It is never easy to decide whether to push a child to fulfil their talent. Is such a decision in the child's best interests or does it fulfil the parent's need for vicarious glory?

 

My son was a gifted athlete. He was approached by one trainer who said that he could take him to the Olympics. A schoolfriend's father, himself an international sportsman, said something similar and went on to say that in his own family his brother had been the more talented but was less successful since he lacked the necessary temperament and commitment. Interestingly, he felt that my son did have the temperament. In the event, my son did not wish to commit to the all-encompassing training schedule and since I did not want him to be unhappy I let things be.

 

It is easy to make that decision from the relative prosperity of the West. I cannot say whether I would have made the same choice if burdened by poverty. Whatever decision a parent makes, he or she can never be sure that they made the right choice.

[BMC]

I get myself in a terrible tangle of emotions with Polunin. When he first left the RB, I felt very sorry for him - that line about never having had the chance to play football with the lads struck me as being really sad. Then, when he continued to be so harsh about the RB and made some quite personal comments, I rather lost patience and decided I would rather much watch a slightly less talented dancer, but one who is loyal and committed to the company.

 

I then saw him at the Osipova programme at Sadlers Wells, and despite not particularly enjoying the evening, it was just fantastic to see him dancing again. I had somehow blotted out just what a beautiful dancer he is and it was so lovely to be reminded.

 

Really looking forward to the forthcoming Polunin programme and excited about the possibility of a return to the RB. On the other hand, I know that I will feel slightly resentful at what I am sure will be an ecstatic reception - being mindful of those other dancers who work so hard and get much less attention.

 

I suppose what I am struggling with is does talent trump all? Or is a combination of (less spectacular) talent and loyalty equally important? Is ballet a 'team sport' (for want of a better expression) or should it revolve around the star talent? I don't know!

[Lilian88]

I don't think that Polunin is ever going to give a consistent account about how he feels about being a dancer for the simple reason that he does not really understand it himself. He is one of the most gifted dancers who I have ever seen but he has ambivalent feelings about being a dancer. He has all the gifts that a great dancer needs except the one which Jonathan Cope said was the most essential and that is the burning need to dance. At the end of the day being born with the perfect body for a dancer, having amazing technical facility, great interpretative skills and musicality will only take you so far. The burning desire and absolute need to dance will take you as far, if not further.

 

At one time the pushy ballet mother who decided on, and mapped out the career of her offspring was something of a cliche. In Polunin it seems we have an example of one of the victims of the ballet mother. It  would appear that Polunin began his training because his mother thought that it would be a career which would be of benefit to the family. He knows the sacrifices that his family made so that he could train and he probably feels responsible for the fact that his parents split up. Knowing that you are good at something which you don't particularly want to do; knowing the sacrifices which were made for you to enable you to do it; feeling that you need to repay the debt and knowing that the only way that you can do that is by pursuing a career which was wished on you by one of your parents seems to me to be an almost impossible burden for anyone to bear.It also seems to be a more than sufficient explanation for all of his erratic behaviour including the contradictory statements which he has made about his time at the Royal Ballet and his long term plans.

 

 

I totally agree with you. No child should suffer a pressure like that, whatever are the reasons behind it and the fact that instead this happen and also very often, doesn't make the thing more acceptable or the child less deserving of our understanding. Among other things we're not talking "just" about a pressure linked to the achievement of success, but of a child growed with the idea that his family was separated because of him, first temporarily for the work, then definitely for the divorce of his parents ... Add to this, he was alone, in a foreign country ... I mean, I'm not a psychologist but I would say that here there is more than enough to make life difficult for anyone.

And in short, a dancer, even the youngest principal of the Royal Ballet history, is a human like everyone; if there is someone who at nineteen already had everything perfectly clear and has never changed his mind since then, good for him, if I think back to my quite ordinary teenage years, I got chills...

[Mary]

I know what you mean BMC. I found  myself getting very impatient with a lot of the publicity around the film, and the same old points about a rebel etc ( 'the James Dean of ballet'- please!!!!) Some get less attention but, does everyone want that sort of attention? Is it not part of the problem?  Someone who is labelled by the media in this way will be forever encouraged to play up to the image etc, and so it goes on.

 

It is not a question of whether we OUGHT to applaud such talent-  how can we help it?- when it has misbehaved; more that, without team work, discIpline, dedication, practice, the scope for real achievement may reduces very fast and we will have a lot less to appplaud at all...

[Saodan]

I suppose what I am struggling with is does talent trump all? Or is a combination of (less spectacular) talent and loyalty equally important? Is ballet a 'team sport' (for want of a better expression) or should it revolve around the star talent? I don't know!

 

 

I value loyalty. 

 

I love ballet, and enjoy watching different companies where I can, but the Royal Ballet is my company. I attend as much as I can, I know the dancers and can pick them out on stage, I have my favourites, both established dancers and up and coming young dancers, and I enjoy watching them develop and cheering them on. As such, I can’t help but take a sleight against the Royal Ballet somewhat personally, however irrational that may be. 

 

Polunin is a wonderful dancer and I have a huge amount of sympathy for the struggles he has been through. However, after all he has said, not once but repeatedly over a number of years, I’m not entirely sure why the company should invite him back. The Royal Ballet has enough talent in house, and does not need his profile to sell tickets. I would rather performances be given to the younger dancers who actually value the company. Those who want to see Polunin dance can go elsewhere. 

 

That said, if he has got his mind straight and is serious about linking up with the Royal Ballet again, maybe we owe him the chance. He is one of our own after all..

[Mary]

Quite so, Saodan.

 

I wonder what the RB dancers think!

[Lindsay]

Art is not, or at least should not be, a matter of allegiances or loyalties. Polunin has done nothing criminal or immoral and nothing even verging on malicious or vindictive. He has hurt no one except possibly himself.

 

And his talent is such that anyone who knows and values good dancing would rather see him dance than a less gifted dancer who has behaved in a way the ROH audience considers "correct".

 

Of course art cannot be detached from the real world. But I wonder whether the people who think Polinin should be persona non grata at Covent Garden would give a moment's consideration as to whether they should be happy to see Gergiev conduct or an Israeli state sponsored company perform? There are indeed issues which would give me pause concerning artists' behaviour but I cannot see how Polunin's "sins" are even remotely in that realm...

[bridiem]

Art is not, or at least should not be, a matter of allegiances or loyalties. Polunin has done nothing criminal or immoral and nothing even verging on malicious or vindictive. He has hurt no one except possibly himself.

 

And his talent is such that anyone who knows and values good dancing would rather see him dance than a less gifted dancer who has behaved in a way the ROH audience considers "correct".

 

Of course art cannot be detached from the real world. But I wonder whether the people who think Polinin should be persona non grata at Covent Garden would give a moment's consideration as to whether they should be happy to see Gergiev conduct or an Israeli state sponsored company perform? There are indeed issues which would give me pause concerning artists' behaviour but I cannot see how Polunin's "sins" are even remotely in that realm...

 

Without allegiances and loyalties there would be no great companies, and great artists can do nothing without great companies. Equally, great dancers are not necessarily 'stars' (and vice versa, in fact). So, I choose all - loyal, company-focussed dancers, team players, AND maverick stars. And yes, I'd love to see Polunin dance with the Royal again. (And I have no idea what HIS political views are.)

[Saodan]

The age old question of separating art from artist. Wagner is another example. 

 

In another thread, there has been some discussion of audiences disrupting enjoyment of a performance. If this is true, and I believe it is, it seems entirely reasonable for one’s enjoyment of good art to be spoiled by an artist one does not ‘like’.  

 

Incidentally, I do like Polunin, admire his talents, and am happy to watch him dance. I would certainly not wish to deny him the freedom to perform. The question is whether he should be invited to dance under the Royal Ballet banner. Considering his very public disavowal of the company, and stated intention to pursue his own projects, I see no reason for Polunin and the Royal Ballet to work together. 

 

That said, if Polunin does dance with the Royal Ballet again, I will be doing everything I can to get a ticket.

[Lindsay]

But one might equally argue that "allegiances and loyalties" can lead to stale, self-satisfied organisations and mediocre artistic standards.  (I'm not saying that this is the case with the RB at the moment but it certainly has been during some periods of its history). It is always better artistically to have a free exchange of ideas and talents, albeit within the context of an overall artistic direction of the company.

 

Great artists have a tendency to be disruptive and shake things up.  That is why arts organisations should not be viewed simply as quasi-corporate bodies with promotions and opportunities based solely on 'fairness'.  Prioritising personal relationships over aesthetic considerations rarely results in excellence.

[MAB]

But one might equally argue that "allegiances and loyalties" can lead to stale, self-satisfied organisations and mediocre artistic standards.  (I'm not saying that this is the case with the RB at the moment but it certainly has been during some periods of its history). It is always better artistically to have a free exchange of ideas and talents, albeit within the context of an overall artistic direction of the company.

 

 

Absolutely.  In the not so distant past the RB was filled with time servers and dancing civil servants, happily that isn't the case at the moment.

[penelopesimpson]

I get myself in a terrible tangle of emotions with Polunin. When he first left the RB, I felt very sorry for him - that line about never having had the chance to play football with the lads struck me as being really sad. Then, when he continued to be so harsh about the RB and made some quite personal comments, I rather lost patience and decided I would rather much watch a slightly less talented dancer, but one who is loyal and committed to the company.

 

I then saw him at the Osipova programme at Sadlers Wells, and despite not particularly enjoying the evening, it was just fantastic to see him dancing again. I had somehow blotted out just what a beautiful dancer he is and it was so lovely to be reminded.

 

Really looking forward to the forthcoming Polunin programme and excited about the possibility of a return to the RB. On the other hand, I know that I will feel slightly resentful at what I am sure will be an ecstatic reception - being mindful of those other dancers who work so hard and get much less attention.

 

I suppose what I am struggling with is does talent trump all? Or is a combination of (less spectacular) talent and loyalty equally important? Is ballet a 'team sport' (for want of a better expression) or should it revolve around the star talent? I don't know!

 

 

BMC I feel exactly the same.  I only saw Polunin live twice and was impressed on both occasions.  His decision to leave RB in the lurch and without warning annoyed me, but I put it down to his youth and hoped and hoped that ultimately he would find his way back to ballet.  

 

Right now I have come to the conclusion that what he really wants above all else is stardom - without putting in the time.  Yes, the bad boy image is overdone as those who have seen him just being himself attest, but if he doesn't cultivate this persona, what else is there?  It is not exactly as if he has a huge body of past work to testify to his achievements.  I struggle with celebs who write their autobiographies in their twenties and this film has elements of that.

 

Whatever, I wish him well, but where is he to go now?

[Lindsay]

What else is there??? There is his dancing penelope!   We are not talking about a "reality" star who has no skills and only notoriety.

 

He has been guesting with multiple ballet companies in Russia and elsewhere as well as working on his own projects.  There seems to be no reason why that should not continue (although I would really love it if Tamara could work her magic and make him a regular guest with ENB).   Whatever people might thing about his taste in choreography, I doubt that anyone who has seen him dance could dismiss Polunin as a case of image/style over substance..

[bridiem]

But one might equally argue that "allegiances and loyalties" can lead to stale, self-satisfied organisations and mediocre artistic standards.  (I'm not saying that this is the case with the RB at the moment but it certainly has been during some periods of its history). It is always better artistically to have a free exchange of ideas and talents, albeit within the context of an overall artistic direction of the company.

 

Great artists have a tendency to be disruptive and shake things up.  That is why arts organisations should not be viewed simply as quasi-corporate bodies with promotions and opportunities based solely on 'fairness'.  Prioritising personal relationships over aesthetic considerations rarely results in excellence.

 

Yes, one might argue that; but I think the aim is to keep these elements in balance. Ignoring personal relationships rarely results in excellence either.

[bridiem]

What else is there??? There is his dancing penelope!   We are not talking about a "reality" star who has no skills and only notoriety.

 

He has been guesting with multiple ballet companies in Russia and elsewhere as well as working on his own projects.  There seems to be no reason why that should not continue (although I would really love it if Tamara could work her magic and make him a regular guest with ENB).   Whatever people might thing about his taste in choreography, I doubt that anyone who has seen him dance could dismiss Polunin as a case of image/style over substance..

 

Very true! I just hope that his future choices allow him to develop as a dancer rather than simply building on his media image which would eventually evaporate without continuing substance behind it.

[Lilian88]

Art is not, or at least should not be, a matter of allegiances or loyalties. Polunin has done nothing criminal or immoral and nothing even verging on malicious or vindictive. He has hurt no one except possibly himself.

And his talent is such that anyone who knows and values good dancing would rather see him dance than a less gifted dancer who has behaved in a way the ROH audience considers "correct".

Of course art cannot be detached from the real world. But I wonder whether the people who think Polinin should be persona non grata at Covent Garden would give a moment's consideration as to whether they should be happy to see Gergiev conduct or an Israeli state sponsored company perform? There are indeed issues which would give me pause concerning artists' behaviour but I cannot see how Polunin's "sins" are even remotely in that realm...

Well said! Art is art, and artists aren't employers. If all the artists had followed certain reasoning, today we wouldn't have some of the most beautiful expressions of art in every sphere. And, I hope to not offend anyone, but I find that there is a certain hypocrisy, perhaps unconsciously, in judging Polunin: if in the same conditions, he had fled to the Royal Ballet from Russia, for example, do you think honestly that the press would treat him in the same way? I think no.

[FLOSS]

I am not convinced that Polunin is necessarily persona non grata at the ROH. I suspect that the real problem is whether or not he is sufficiently reliable to make it worthwhile to take a chance on inviting him to guest with the RB. Management may decide that the amount of potential disruption and upset and the impact on the company if he is programmed to dance but does not turn up or decides to walk out during rehearsals or during the run of performances is too heavy a price to pay for any benefit that the company and its dancers might.derive from his presence.Management may well have decided that in Muntagirov,it has an exceptionally talented and apparently level headed young principal dancer, who is both reliable and a role model that it would wish its younger dancers to emulate. 

 

Polunin is potentially the greatest dancer of his generation but if you were the Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet or any other major company would you employ him? I suspect that your answer will depend on how high a price you would be prepared to pay to secure his presence on the stage of your theatre. In this context the word "price" is not limited to the monetary cost but the likely disruptive effect of his presence on the company and individual dancer's not unreasonable expectations for their own careers.It is not as if the company is short of talent at present.Would you want to gamble on their response if they are first expected to act as the balletic equivalent of spear carriers and then  expected to fill any casting gaps that might arise during the course of the run?

 

The presence of Nureyev with the company in the 1960's may have denied other men performances but men of David Wall's generation all spoke of the effect that his dancing had on their technique and their expectations. Whatever opinion you may have of Nureyev as a dancer he was a wonderful role model as far as commitment to the art form is concerned,. Well into the 1970's he was the living embodiment of what a dancer can achieve through determination, hard work , knowledge of the repertory and astute taste. I am not sure that the same can be said of Polunin's use of his talents.Perhaps Polunin's greatest tragedy is not the waste of an exceptional talent nor his ambivalence towards classical dance,but the fact that he is not living in a time which is greatly interested in classical dance. Polunin's dreams of fame and wealth would be far less easily achieved than they were for Nureyev even if Polunin had his determination and focus.

 

In the 1960's there was a great deal more general interest in classical dance than there is now and it was not automatically dismissed  as an irredeemably elitist or irrelevant art form. Nureyev burst into a western world in which the greatest choreographers of the twentieth century were actively engaged in adding to the repertory and media outlets were interested in classical dance if only because dance was still operating in the afterglow of the Diaghilev era. Here I suspect that significant Diaghilev anniversaries and exhibitions helped maintain interest in dance as a serious art form which could not be dismissed lightly. When the Royal Ballet acquired Nijinska's Les Noces in the mid sixties there were programmes about it on the Third programme in which Nabokov and Ashton discussed the ballet's significance. I have no doubt that the sense of vitality which people associated with classical dance was boosted by the presence and continued activity of the pioneers who had established classical ballet companies Rambert and deValois in the UK and Chase in the US.In the West Nureyev was operating in a world in which dancers were newsworthy for their skills and artistry, in which the greatest of them had international reputations rather than a merely local one.

 

Today classical dance  occupies a far more limited and less significant place in the arts and in many countries classical companies are in danger of being transformed into contemporary ones.I suspect that even a man as single minded and focussed as Nureyev might find it difficult to establish himself as a major international ballet star in today's cultural climate.The press and media would be far more interested in his private life than they were at the time and he would probably experience the mindless cliched exposure which Polunin is now enjoying. In today's cultural climate even Nureyev's work ethic, focus,taste. knowledge  and astute choice of repertory might not be sufficient to give him the sort of financial and reputational rewards which he obtained during his lifetime. 

Edited March 2, 2017 by FLOSS

[MAB]

Nureyev wasn't jokingly referred to as Rudolf Neveroff for nothing, he always turned up.  Any resentment towards him, came from specific quarters, but the younger ones just wanted to emulate him and he was ever generous with advice.  More than once I've seen him take a male dancer aside in a lull in rehearsals for an impromptu coaching session.  He jokingly described himself as the hare for the RB greyhounds to chase and there's a lot of truth in his comment.

 

Nureyev was tough as nails whereas Polunin clearly is not.  In dance as in life individuals react differently to a given set of circumstances.  To quote a well known popular song 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going'  Polunin is clearly not tough.  I am going to ne hypocritical here and say I'd love to see him return to the RB but being pragmatic, were I an AD I would hesitate to employ him.

[FLOSS]

 In my opinion the two greatest disasters which the RB experienced were failing to secure Vera Volkova's services as a teacher for the company on whatever terms she was prepared to offer, the second was the failure to secure Nureyev as the company's AD. on whatever terms he was prepared to offer.I can't help thinking that we would not have had to endure the nearly thirty years of decline in both the school and the company that was our fate and it would have been exciting.I can't help thinking that ballet might have remained newsworthy in this country for all the right reasons.

Edited March 2, 2017 by FLOSS

[Mary]

I think it's very difficult for a dancer to be a freelance. Nureyev always wanted to be part of a company did he not- albeit on his own terms! and  also moving around and guesting as well, but he knew the value of roots, and of working with other people.

Thinking it over, it seems to me  dancers don't do their best when they are going it alone. It  must be such a struggle  seeking out opportunities, choreography, partners. All the things a company does for you, you have to do yourself. Even the most mature, experienced dancers get this wrong at times ( thinking of all those shows, 'So-and-so with friends'...often v mediocre).

I am not convinced Polunin has been in anything REALLY good since he left RB, except his work with other companies.

 

I don't agree with his oft stated points that dancers know best all the time, don't need anyone else, and should be in charge of running companies without any administration getting ' in the way'.  Theatres don't run themselves. These days times are very hard.

 

RB have had enough bad publicity in all this- a lot of it rather undeserved. Who can blame them for not wanting any more.

...and yes they have the wonderful Muntagirov and a lot of other talented people who actually want to dance.

 

I just feel it's a terrible, terrible shame, and surely many of us would be overjoyed if he did settle into a company, dance all the great roles and become the really  great dancer he is cut out to be.

 

But, it's up to him isn't it.