Polunin dances in the open air. He will stage a drama about Rasputin in Kroměříž

Polunin dances in the open air. He will stage a drama about Rasputin in Kroměříž

The production about Rasputin was created especially for Polunin and London's Palladium Theater by thirty-seven-year-old Japanese choreographer Yuka Oishi. In the work, he mainly deals with various aspects of Rasputin's personality.

"After all, he was only human. I believe he had his reputed healing powers, and I understand why Empress Alexandra teamed up with him to deal with her son's hemophilia," said the choreographer. Rasputin enjoyed the favor of the tsarist couple ever since he apparently healed the sick heir to the throne Alexei Nikolayevich.

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The choreographer has read many books dedicated to Rasputin, but each one depicts the mystic's life differently. "In the end, I created the choreography as I saw the story and tried to understand the feelings of each of the characters and portray them in clear images. I wanted to show Rasputin's dark beastly side, but also the light that existed in him," she adds.

The open-air performance will take place in Kroměříž on July 23, tickets will be available from this Tuesday in the Ticketportal network. The organizers did not disclose their price in advance.

Polunin will dance under the open sky. In Kroměříž will present a drama about Rasputin

In addition to Polunin, a thirty-two-year-old Russian of Ukrainian origin, dancers Sergej Ljubimov and Johan Kobborg will appear on stage. The music was composed by Kirill Richter, the scenography is by the Czech dancer Otto Bubeníček.

Sergej Polunin was born in November 1989 in Ukraine. From four to eight years old, he trained in ballet at the academy there, and for the next four years he attended the State Choreographic Institute in Kyiv. He lived in Great Britain from the age of 13, at the age of nineteen he became the youngest soloist of the Royal Ballet in London. At the age of 23, he was appointed artistic director of the ensemble.

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Less than three years later, however, he left it and the media wrote about his wild lifestyle full of parties, alcohol and cocaine. Polunin stated that he is quitting dancing because he wants to pursue acting. He loves classical dance, but the environment in which even the most famous move almost discouraged him from pursuing another career, and only escaping into the world of film saved him, he said.

Eventually Polunin moved to Russia and continues to dance. The wilder part of his life was summarized in the film Dancer directed by Steven Cantor.

"Twenty-nine-year-old Polunin is an extraordinary dancer, compared to Rudolf Nureyev or Mikhail Baryšnikov, but the interest in performing does not lie only in the performer's artistic abilities," dance critic Jana Návratová wrote about him for Aktuálně.cz, according to whom Polunin attracts attention also controversial behavior and statements, especially on social networks.

"The life destinies of this young man do not match with romantic heroes, they are full of highs and lows and, above all, tense emotionality. It is magical on stage, but problematic off it," added dance critic Helena Kazárová in her review of Polunin's performance at Prague's Karlín Forum .

The decision to continue dancing is said to have been made by Polunin during the filming of a video clip by American photographer and artist David LaChapelle for the song Take Me to Church. This made him famous among a wider audience, he still has over 29 million views on the Internet. Originally, it was supposed to be a farewell dance.

The choreography for the song Take Me To Church by singer-songwriter Hozier was filmed by David LaChapelle. | Video: David LaChapelle Studio
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