Dance Magazine Article July 3, 2017

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Everything Sergei Polunin is Working On, Because We Obviously Need to Know

Sergei Polunin has a penchant for unexpectedly bursting into the news. DANCER, a feature-length documentary, has proved to be a sympathetic portrait of ballet’s favorite bad boy. He’s been increasingly visible, popping up everywhere from “So You Think You Can Dance?” to Sadler’s Wells. So what’s the international star got next on his dance card?

Teaching a Master Class

Some very lucky ballet students will take a class with Polunin at Danceworks London on July 18. Currently sold out, interested students can add their names to a wait list.) Polunin teams up this spring with the studio for a scholarship to its summer dance program. The Sergei Polunin Inspiration Scholarship, has since been awarded to two young dancers.

A Featured Role in a Major Hollywood Film

Don’t expect pirouettes. Murder on the Orient Express is a remake of the classic 1974 film based on the 1934 Agatha Christie murder mystery, here starring the venerable Sir Kenneth Branagh. You can glimpse Polunin looking rather haughty in the above trailer, in which his character is identified as “The Count.” He might not be dancing, but it should be pretty amazing to see him acting opposite such a heavy-hitting cast. In theaters this November.

Dancing with Jennifer Lawrence in Another Hollywood Flick

Okay, so do we know for sure that the above post is from rehearsals for Red Sparrow? The new Soviet-era spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence? No, but we’re fairly sure we’re correct. Polunin is definitely attached to the film. Justin Peck is almost definitely choreographing. And, since Peck and Isabella Boylston posted on Instagram about being in Budapest while filming was happening there, it’s a safe bet that Boylston is Lawrence’s dance double. (Lawrence’s character is an ex-ballerina turned spy; we’re guessing that Polunin is her partner.) So yes, pirouettes are likely in this one. Red Sparrow is currently slated for release March 2018.

Filming One More Movie, This Time with Ralph Fiennes

The White Crow is a dramatization of Rudolf Nureyev’s defection to the West. Ralph Fiennes is directing. Not sure who Polunin is playing, but he reportedly begins filming this summer. He stars opposite Russian ballet dancer Oleg Ivenko (Nureyev) and French actress Adele Exarchopoulos (Clara Saint).

Author: Courtney Escoyne for Dance Magazine Jul 3 2017