Lucky Ballerinas

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Lucky ballerinas? Or, are they…

Brief bit of ballet background

Ballet originated in the early 1600’s. For the first 75 years or so, it was Men Only. Women weren’t allowed. If a role called for a female, it was danced by a man.

Once accepted, however, the woman quickly became the star of the ballet, and thus, the ballerina was born. A male dancer struts his stuff in a quick solo variation in most classical ballets, but, when it comes to the pas de deux (steps for two), he is relegated to more of a supporting role. His main purpose becomes to assist his tutu-clad other half. That is… hoisting her high into the air, toting her about the stage, spinning her around on pointe, and in general, making her look good. Sometimes so much so, that I recall once hearing a male dancer refer to himself as “scenery.”

Along comes Sergei

From Russia to the Ukraine to London, Sergei Polunin has partnered some of the most celebrated ballerinas. Natalia Osipova, Svetlana Zakharova, and Tamara Rojo to name just a few. While all the world might wish to dance with him, these women are a few of the lucky ones who do. Although… can a ballerina be considered lucky if the onlookers can’t take their eyes off of HIM?? It’s as if the ballerinas are dancing back up! Audiences, for a change, have their eyes glued to Sergei while a ballerina flitters about him, reduced to a mere distraction. Sergei Polunin is the man who makes ballerinas disappear.

Disclaimer: This little excursion into ballet history is not meant to cast dispersions on any of the talented and hardworking women ballet dancers in the world today. The idea is to point out, with a little tongue-in-cheek, just how remarkable Sergei Polunin is.

Videos

The featured videos in this entry are photo montages of Sergei Polunin partnering several different ballerinas in some of ballet’s most passionate pas de deux. Presented with him are some of his “fortunate” ballerinas.

Interesting Bit Of Trivia

The first of the two videos below was deemed “so hot” that the YouTube bots banned it. The ruling was overturned once human eyes addressed the issue and agreed that the performers did, in fact have on tights, and were not naked.