Sergei Polunin

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Lore & Background

Sergei Polunin was born in Kherson, Ukrainian SSR. From age four to eight, he trained at a gymnastics academy, then spent four years at the Kyiv State Choreographic Institute. His mother Galina moved with him to Kyiv while his father Vladimir worked in Portugal to support them. After graduating from the Kyiv Choreographic Academy, he joined the British Royal Ballet School at age 13 in 2003, sponsored by the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. He won the Prix de Lausanne and Youth America Grand Prix in 2006, was named Young British Dancer of the Year in 2007, and became a first soloist at the Royal Ballet in 2009. In June 2010, at age 20, he became the Royal Ballet's youngest ever male principal. The New York Times described him as "a fabulous dancer, with a steely technique and beautiful line" in its review of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011). On 24 January 2012, Polunin announced his resignation from the Royal Ballet with immediate effect, saying he had become so unhappy that "the artist in [him] was dying." In summer 2012, he was invited to Russia by Igor Zelensky and became a principal dancer with the Stanislavsky Music Theatre and Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. In early April 2013, he walked out on the Schaufuss Ballet's performance of Midnight Express just days before its opening night. He was first shown in the international spotlight in the role of Slavemaster/Shepherd in the 25th Anniversary The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2014, he started collaborating with David LaChapelle, and a dance video to "Take Me to Church" by Hozier in February 2015 went viral. He was the subject of the 2016 documentary film Dancer. In 2017, he set up Project Polunin, reincorporated as Polunin Ink in 2018. In January 2019, the Paris Opéra Ballet revoked an invitation for him to perform in Swan Lake after homophobic and sexist Instagram posts sparked international outrage. Polunin fully supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and was invited to speak and perform at government-organized ceremonies. He performed in full military uniform to a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, which Uzbek authorities said deviated from the planned programme.

Reader's Guide

Sergei Polunin's significance lies in his meteoric rise as a ballet prodigy—becoming the Royal Ballet's youngest male principal at 20—and his subsequent transition to a freelance career that brought him to major stages worldwide. His viral 2015 dance video to Hozier's 'Take Me to Church' exposed him to a wider audience. However, his legacy is deeply contested: his public support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, homophobic and sexist Instagram posts that led to a revoked invitation from the Paris Opéra Ballet in 2019, and his performance in military uniform for fallen Russian soldiers have sparked international outrage. Polunin Ink's productions, such as Rasputin (which received generally negative reviews from London critics but was later shown in Zurich and Tashkent) and Romeo and Juliet (danced in the Verona Arena to over 10,000 members in the audience to critical acclaim), illustrate mixed reception. His career illustrates the tension between artistic achievement and personal/political controversy, and his loss of Ukrainian citizenship in 2025 underscores the geopolitical dimensions of his life.

Did You Know?

• Polunin became the Royal Ballet's youngest ever male principal dancer in June 2010 at age 20.
• His dance video to Hozier's 'Take Me to Church' in February 2015 went viral and exposed him to a wider audience.
• In January 2019, the Paris Opéra Ballet revoked an invitation for him to perform in Swan Lake after homophobic and sexist Instagram posts sparked international outrage.
• Polunin performed in full military uniform to a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, which Uzbek authorities said deviated from the planned programme.
• In 2025, he was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship.