Dancer

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1

Attention, dancers.

The show will begin

in 20 minutes.

All patrons:

please take your seats.

The orchestra is ready.

And so are the artists.

The show will begin shortly.

- May I have your autograph?

- Of course.

Why do you need his autograph?

All you need is for him

to look into your eyes.

Girls, let us through, please!

Mama, I want a photo with him!

When Sergei was born,

I remember

the maternity nurse came

to check for defects

in the joints.

She spread his legs apart

the normal amount,

but they just kept

spreading apart.

The nurse got scared.

She wasn't expecting that.

He was flexible from birth.

In Kherson,

the situation

was not very promising.

I was always

thinking about his future.

And now

for the third-place award.

Sergei Polunin.

Boys first have to do

gymnastics.

Then the trainer says

what's next.

Ballet or more gymnastics.

I knew it had to be ballet.

I just had this gut feeling

that this was the right

decision, and it was.

He was little, playful.

He didn't yet understand

why he was here.

He was long,

flexible, strong.

But he had a problem.

We had to redo his muscles.

He had the muscles

of a gymnast,

and for ballet, they need

to be long, classical-looking.

Galina lvanovna was the one

that made him fall in love

with dancing.

Watching his shows

at the school...

I remember

I had tears in my eyes

when my little crumb

came out onstage

and began to improvise a ballet.

In Kherson,

we spent a lot of time

together.

We enjoyed the outdoors,

went to the beach,

wrestled, and fooled around.

I refused to believe

we were going to be separated.

I wanted him

to accomplish something...

So that he could live

a better life than we did.

The choreographic school

in Kiev

was the best school

in the Ukraine.

But to study in that school,

it was impossible,

because it was very expensive.

Turns out Dad

is the breadwinner,

and to enable Sergei

to go to the school in Kiev,

Grandma and I drew straws

to decide who would go where.

Grandma left for Greece,

and I left for Portugal.

Galina stayed with Sergei.

Vlad went in one direction

and you the other.

Yes.

That enabled them

to pay Sergei's tuition.

Assemble and then relev.

Can you do it,

or are you scared?

I'm not scared.

Well, then!

It's okay if it's

not right at first.

Just practice!

Sergei, what was that?

Don't try too hard!

You should be natural.

All I had were his problems,

his school, his practices...

Do it again!

His homework,

tailoring for him.

I had no life of my own in Kiev.

Higher!

See, that's it!

I'm hardly holding him!

That's it!

In Portugal,

I met some Germans,

and I worked as their gardener.

All the money I earned,

I sent to Galina.

I worked taking care

of an aged grandmother.

It was so difficult,

morally and physically.

I felt so sorry for myself.

We clearly had a team.

And this little boy

was our hope.

Sergei was accepted into

the Kiev Choreographic School.

In the same year,

he won second place

at the National

Ballet Competition.

Sergei, what are you

passionate about?

I have a lot of passions,

but my favorite is dancing.

I want my dancing

to give people joy.

I want my figure

to be more beautiful.

To get skinnier

so that it's pleasant

to look at me.

To be the best

so that I am remembered.

After a couple of years

in that school,

he was already the best student

in his class.

But I wanted to make sure

he could reach the top.

I then realized

that it would be much better

for him to study abroad.

I took photos, made a video,

and mailed it all.

We got the invitation

for an audition.

So we went.

Sergei took out the camera

and filmed.

We laughed a lot!

Mom, are you filming the deer?

When we arrived

at the Royal School,

there were a lot of children.

He auditioned,

then a teacher came out

and said

to expect the results

that Monday.

A whole week passed by,

and we stopped waiting.

Serezha is ready to eat.

But then we received

a letter saying,

"We're happy to accept you

to the Royal Ballet Academy."

And I remember being so happy

to hear that he got in.

But...

Complications began

with my visa.

I could have stayed illegally,

but it would have compromised

the status

of Sergei's documents.

I didn't want to risk it.

Being far away, you lose

familiarity with each other.

When Sergei went to London,

I didn't see him for six years.

Our family practically

separated by itself.

Everybody parted

like ships at sea.

He didn't know a word

in English.

It was really hard

to let him go, to say good-bye.

That was my ultimate sacrifice.

I didn't know what to do

without him.

After he was gone,

I couldn't put myself together

for a whole year.

Sergei, is that

one of our T-shirts'?

- No!

- Oh, Sergei!

After Sergei's

first year there,

the divorce happened.

Sergei called me in Portugal

and, with a certain pity

toward me, started asking,

"How are you?

How are things going?"

I couldn't tell him about it.

Then I found out

that he already knew.

I asked Sergei, and he said,

"Please don't come.

I get really stressed out

when you watch me dance."

It was hard

for me to get a visa,

being from

the former Soviet Union.

So we never went.

There was discussion

of partying at clubs,

his skipping of rehearsals,

and purchasing a tattoo salon.

When I found out

Sergei had eight tattoos,

I almost lost consciousness,

honestly.

Polunin said that,

"I don't have enough friends

and parties,

and sometimes

such things are important."

I didn't know

about his tweets.

Only when the bad press

started,

then I saw what he was doing.

He told me, "Don't worry.

Everythings good."

Well, it wasn't good.

But that's what he said.

He was clearly missing

his family.

That was our mistake.

Ukrainian-born dancer

Sergei Polunin

was given the name

"the bad boy of ballet"

after his scandalous departure

from the Royal Ballet of London.

Ladies and gentlemen...

And those watching at home...

We are excited

to bring you our newest show...

"Big Ballet"!

Our first contestant

is Sergei Polunin.

Sergei recently left London

for Moscow.

Did you know Sergei

is a real star in London?

The papers are constantly

writing about him!

From London to Moscow

especially for this show,

Sergei Polunin.

Vladimir,

your verdict, please.

- Ten.

- Thank you.

Azzari?

- Ten.

- Thank you.

- Ten.

- Thank you!

- Vladymir?

- Ten.

A perfect performance!

I see scars on your body.

These scars are not real,

so what are they for?

They are tattoos.

I get that.

But Why'd you get so many?

What's this say?

- "Dirty Money."

- Why?

I like the song.

Whose song is it?

P. Diddy.

Recently, Sergei won

the "Big Ballet" competition,

becoming a name

in his new homeland.

Sergei is loved

by the people.

He has so much going for him

as a dancer-

his jump, his charisma,

his physique.

In our modern-day ballet,

he is exceptional.

Igor showed up

at just the right time.

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