Tag: Sergei Polunin

Sergei to join the YBSS gala

Sergei PoluninThe Yorkshire Ballet Summer School gala set to be held at Sadler’s Wells on 29 September has added an extra star to its performing ranks. Sergei Polunin, one of the most talked about male ballet stars of the twenty-first century will be joining the star-studded gala to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, hosted by Sir Anthony Dowell and Sir Derek Jacobi, produced by Marguerite Porter and Richard Clifford.

Polunin will be joining other world class theatrical and dance names such as Wayne Sleep and Samantha Bond performing ‘We’re A Couple of Swells’ (originated by Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in ‘Easter Parade’); dancers from the Northern Ballet in ‘Bitter Earth’ choreographed by Kenneth Tindall; Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball; Elizabeth Harrod, Soloist with the Royal Ballet;  ‘Le Corsaire’ performed by ENB soloist Lauretta Summerscales; the BalletBoyz and the Talent 2013, Steven McCrae with his own tap version of Gene Kelly’s ‘I Got Rhythm’; Dane Hurst in Mark Baldwin’s solo ‘Inala’, and dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet.

The YBSS grew out of the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars which began in 1973 by ex-Royal Ballet dancer and teacher David Gayle MBE to give young people the chance to meet ballet professionals and learn about opportunities to further their ballet interests.  Within two years the Seminars had morphed into the YBSS, the country’s first residential ballet course. Porter likens the YBSS to talent scouting: “We wanted to help regional children to meet and be seen by experienced artists and teachers…40 years later we are still in a privileged position because of our contacts in the ballet world and are so pleased to be able to continue directing promising students to vocational schools”.

It must be noted that both Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter have great admiration for the venture, as it “does wonderful work introducing children to the world of dance by providing them with world class tuition” and they only hope that sciatica and a dodgy hamstring won’t prevent them premiering the Dolores Umbridge and Carson pas de deux to a dance hungry public!

Tickets: £12 to £85 www.sadlerswells.com

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The New Nureyev?

Rudolph NureyevFollowing performances of three young Russian men – Ivan Vasiliev, Sergei Polunin and Vadim Muntagirov – there has been some speculation from dance critics as to whether any of these men may become the next Rudolf Nureyev, one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the twentieth century and an extremely charismatic performer.

There have been recent starring roles danced by each of the dancers for various companies. Ivan Vasiliev, a Principal dancer of the Mikhailovsky Ballet and American Ballet Theatre Guest Artist with impressive thighs and a wonderful sense of characterisation danced Albrecht in Giselle opposite his on and off-stage partner Natalia Osipova. Although small, Vasiliev is a man of gigantic leap and power, executing his directed movement with conviction and a desire to tell the story to the last detail.

Polunin, on the other end, appears to have a notorious want not to tell the story, either his own or the one he should be dancing. Polunin has recently been the subject of much dance press in his desertion of the production of Peter Schaufuss’ Midnight Express, in which he should have danced Billy. This was after Polunin walked from The Royal Ballet of which he was a highly regarded Principal, with a greater desire for money and tattoos as a typical young man. Here, it is the intrigue of Polunin that sets him apart.

Elsewhere, Muntagirov, as one of English National Ballet’s revered Lead Principals under Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, is a sight to behold. Having been a Guest Artist greatly received by many international ballet companies, Muntagirov is usually partnered with Lead Principal Daria Klimentova. This highly successful partnership has often been likened to that of the iconic Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn duet as sparkling stars, just slightly unattainable. In this sense, it looks likely that Muntagirov will excel even further than he has a young dancer, creating a remarkable career.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Coppelia’s Bad Boy

Sergei PoluninSergei Polunin, the notorious “bad boy” of the ballet world, is set to appear in The Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet’s production of Roland Petit’s Coppelia at the London Coliseum in July this year for just six performances.

Petit’s version of the work, which debuted in 1975, is just one interpretation of one of the most well-known ballets with the story including magic, humour, love and even a happy ending!

Staged by Luigi Bonino and set to music by Leo Delibes, this particular production contains all the loved classics of the classical ballet, including the Mazurka, the Waltz of the Hours and the energetic Czardas dances.

The Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet is lead by internationally renowned dancer Igor Zelensky and will bring together some of the century’s finest principal dancers such as the 23 year old Ukranian star Polunin and up-and-coming ballerina Erika Mikirticheva, who will be dancing Franz and Swanilda respectively amongst two other casts. As an incredible yet completely notorious talent, Polunin is set to wow hungry audiences as he helps tell the story of red-blooded Franz’s comic adventures in his falling in love with the beautiful (doll) Coppelia.

The Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet was born in 1939 as a result of the joining of the Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre and the Moscow Art Ballet, founded by the former Bolshoi ballet star Victorian Kriger. The established company quickly became one Russia’s leading ballet companies and went on to tour extensively across Europe and the USA. Today, the company has since staged numerous productions such as Cinderella, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Sylphide, Mayerling, Napoli, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and even The Little Mermaid. This demonstrates that this first-class company still provides much for the ballet world, and with fantastic casts for its productions, will continue to do so well into the future.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.