"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 Ivanovna 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 relevé." "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." "I always wanted Sergei to have a person who was older because he responds to authority." "And in that area, Igor is really capable." "I was watching TV, and in a show, they said that Igor Zelensky had replaced me." "I was hurt." "Because until he was nine, I was always with him." "The romance between Polunin and Russia has lasted for over one and a half years." "After the Moscow premiere of "Paquita,"" "the standing ovation lasts for ten minutes." "The dancers once again go out to bow." " Are you serious?" " This is it." "They won't clap anymore after this." ""SERGEI POLUNIN AND IGOR ZELENSKY IN SPARTACUS"" "Polina." "Could you cover me up, please?" "Of course." "Don't, the costume will cover it." " Don't!" " Okay." "Polina, where's the water?" " Over there." " Where's there?" "Why's it there?" "All right, go." "Go get the water." "So tired." "Do you need help with something?" "No, thanks." " Hang in there, Sergei." " Thanks." "How nice that the laces are only dyed on one side." "Is there water over there?" "Where you left it." "Will you have time in between to drink?" "I'll go refill and put it to the side for when I won't have time." "Before they kill you." "It's too late." "I was trying to help him do what he wanted." "Because ballet is a young person's business." "It's important not to waste time." " Tea." "Tea." " Tea?" "Sure." "Come on in." "What did you say to the cat?" " Nothing." " Food was not promised." "Well, that was a pretty serious decision." "Because I didn't see any prospects for you in Kherson." "I didn't see any at all." "You remember, don't you, that I always sat at gymnastics and waited for you?" "It wasn't because I liked being there." "I had no money to take the trolley back home." "On the other hand," "I saw prospects for you in Kiev." "Of course, I didn't know anything about ballet." "I didn't understand anything about it." "But I saw that it made sense to move to Kiev." "And I thought, "We'll move, then figure out the rest."" "We had to spend so much money... the apartment, your education." "Everything was very expensive." "That's why I was so strict." "That's why I expected a lot from you." "But I wanted to achieve things by myself." "You didn't trust me." "But I knew I could do it myself." "What do you mean I didn't trust you?" "I controlled you." "Well, controlling me is not trusting me." "Actually, it's belief in you." "Well, it was very stressful for me that Dad and Grandma left." "Well, that's life." "There's always responsibility." "One can't be without any responsibility to anyone." "Every person must be responsible for something." "Galina did everything systematically." "She always knew where to go." "Where to drive to, where to arrive at, with whom to practice." "Sergei got lucky with a mom like that." " Hello." " Galina Ivanovna!" "Galina Ivanovna!" "Hello." "Galina." "Hello." "It's great to see you." "My sunshine!" "This is for you." "Everythings new here." "You used to perform on this stage." "Remember?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember." "Remember what you used to dance to?" "Pavarotti, yes!" "Pavarotti, I danced everywhere." "For you, it's like a talisman." "Well, yeah." "As a matter of fact, it is." "My first show in Kiev was Pavarotti." "Do you remember what you called him?" "I asked, "What music do you want for your improv?"" "You said, "What I had the previous lesson."" "I said, "Well, I don't remember." "Maybe you remember what disc?"" "And you said," ""The one with some dude with a beard on it!"" "That's what you were like." "Let's go get Galina Ivanovna!" "Children, come over!" "When Sergei was young, he loved to dance." "He danced with his very soul and transported himself right into the music." "See?" "When Sergei worked here, there were a lot of pictures of him." "They took them away." "When Sergei was little," "I didn't understand family is the main thing." "I understood that I had to feed my family." "If I could turn back time," "I would've spent more time with them." "I never thought" "I'd be at one of Sergei's concerts." "As I watched him," "I couldn't believe my eyes." "It's just impossible to explain." "Oh, look who's here!" " Dad!" " Hi." "Great job!" "Goodness, how great it is to see you!" "Thank you so much, sweetheart." " You're so warm!" " Yeah?" "You must be so tired!" "Forgive me." "Forgive you?" "For what?" "Oh, goodness, my love." "I love you so much." "You are the best!" "The very best!" "How long have we not seen each other?" "A year and a half." "A year and a half, right?" "A year and a half." "Well, we have to do it more often from now on!" "Do try." "My sweetheart." "Take a picture of us and Sergei." "Just don't cover the camera." "Don't put your hand there." "We made a lot of sacrifices." "We tried to give him everything we've got." "We did everything we could." "And if necessary, we would do it all again." "Sergei, darling... come over here." "To your family." "Show the camera how tough you are!" "That's enough."