- Title: Acclaimed ballet dancer Sergei Polunin sits for royal sculptor Frances Segelman
- Date: 18th January 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 17, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS FRANCES SEGELMAN SCULPTING SERGEI POLUNIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) BALLET DANCER SERGEI POLUNIN SAYING "Yes it is a new chapter, I'm very, I mean I have a lot going on in my life but I had to ask myself question why do I still want to be doing so much with the ballet, with the dance and the answer is I want to do something for the dancers and it's creating live shows, it's creating collaboration with artist and to bring industry up. It's very important because I think dancers are not looked after really well they are not, I don't think they are treated the way they should be treated and you know my passion and my goal is to bring dance to the same level or higher than a sport or film industry or any other industry." VARIOUS OF CROWDS AT LIVE-SCULPT EVENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRODUCER 'DANCER' GABRIELLE TANA SAYING "Very very quickly he was propelled to an enormous responsibility in terms of being the youngest ever principal, the great dancer, the star is born. And it was a lot of pressure very very quickly and I don't think that he had a lot of support he was very young, nineteen and he had never really had a life outside of dance and I think that he was curious and wanted to explore things and have options." FRANCES SEGELMAN SCULPTING SERGEI POLUNIN VARIOUS SERGEI POLUNIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) BALLET DANCER SERGEI POLUNIN SAYING (When asked if the way he was treated made him leave The Royal Ballet) "Part of it yes, I wasn't happy with my industry, I'm not gonna be lie it's much less developed than any other industry so of course it was easier to move on to something more developed. Fortunately or unfortunately I am back to dancing and we have an amazing team supportive team which can help and do something in the dance world." VARIOUS CLOSEUP OF SCULPTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BALLET DANCER SERGEI POLUNIN SAYING "First I heard about her from this amazing lady called Debbie Moore who owns Pineapple Studios, it's a dance studios in London, and Frances has a real talent I don't know how to explain what talent is about - you have it or not. And when you look at her sculpting and it really has talent." VARIOUS SCULPTING SERGEI POLUNIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCULPTRESS FRANCES SEGELMAN SAYING "Well I saw a photograph of him and I just thought he would make such a wonderful subject, the fact that he has these tattoos and it's unconventional. It excited me." CLOSEUP OF SERGEI POLUNIN TATTOO SAYING 'MAD HOUSE' FRANCES SEGELMAN SCULPTING SERGEI POLUNIN
- Embargoed: 1st February 2017 02:41
- Keywords: Frances Segelman The Queen The Duke of Edinburgh The Prince of Wales Joanna Lumley Sergei Polunin Gabrielle Tana Debbie Moore Pineapple Dance Studios Royal Ballet
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZH1109
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART MUTE
Internationally acclaimed dancer Sergei Polunin posed for royal sculptor Frances Segelman on Tuesday (January 17) in a live-sculpt event at The Hospital Club in London.
Speaking at the event Sergei Polunin said he was introduced to the Royal sculptress by Pineapple Dance Studios founder Debbie Moore and that he could see the Francis's genius.
"Frances has a real talent I don't know how to explain what talent is about - you have it or not. And when you look at her sculpting it really has talent," he said.
Frances Segelman is considered one of the most successful sculptors in Britain having previously sculpted HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and actress Joanna Lumley. The sculptress said that it was Sergei Polunin's rebellious style that draw her to him.
"Well I saw a photograph of him and I just thought he would make such a wonderful subject, the fact that he has these tattoos and it's unconventional. It excited me!" She remarked.
Sergei Polunin is a Ukrainian ballet prodigy who trained at the Kiev Choreographic State School and The Royal Ballet School before joining The Royal Ballet, where he rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming their youngest principal ever. But the dance star quit the prestigious institution despite being the company's star.
At the live-sculpt event he said that he wasn't comfortable with dancing at the time and his only option was to move on.
"I wasn't happy with my industry, I'm not gonna be lie it's much less developed than any other industry so of course it was easier to move on to something more developed. Fortunately or unfortunately I am back to dancing and we have an amazing team supportive team which can help and do something in the dance world," he said.
The prodigal son of ballet said that he hadn't ruled out a return to The Royal Ballet and was considering his options.
"I am looking into do some shows with Royal Ballet and I hope this will happen, I don't think I will permanently ever join any company but I would love to participate in interesting shows and Royal Ballet is an amazing company and I do want to be part of it."
Sergei Polunin returns to the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London Tuesday 14 - Saturday 18 March with Project Polunin, a series of performances including the UK premiere of Vladimir Vasiliev's Icarus and Tea or Coffee choreographed by Andrey Kaydanovskiy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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