英Telegraph紙より。
先週Peter Schaufuss監督によるMidnight ExpressがLondon Coliseumで開幕(4/9)する直前(先週木曜)に失踪した事件で世間を賑わしたポルーニン。彼と同時に降板になった(姿を消した)イーゴリ・ゼレンスキーと2人でSchaufuss監督と仲違いをしたからというだけでなく、精神的に鬱のような状態だったという噂も流れている。
ちなみにこのバレエは1978年にトルコの刑務所で起きた事件を元に制作されたそうな。中にスキャンダラスな同性愛的内容も含まれているとか、振付やそのアーティスティック・ディレクションに賛同出来なくてプロダクションから降板することになったとか、いろいろ噂されている。
英国ロイヤルバレエのプリンシパル最年少の栄光も突如捨て去って世間を驚かせた彼ですが、若いのかなんなのか、自分の内面を語ることも臆さないもよう。
失踪前のインタビューでは、"アドレナリンを出すため"に自分で自分の体を傷つけたりしていたと告白。自ら、鬱状態だったことや、またそういう時の自分にとって自傷行為が一番良い方法だとも語った。
両親の離婚では精神的ショックを受けたものの、以来「自分を哀れに思ったり、何かを悲しいと思うのはやめた。そういう感情を殺した」という。
ウクライナ出身、現23歳の天才的ダンサー。2012年1月に急に英国ロイヤルを退団。翌月に日本で同バレエ団のプリンシパルらが参加する「アリーナ・コジョカル ドリームプロジェクト」にはコジョカルらの奔走でかろうじて出演出来た。
ロイヤルのプレッシャーの大きさに耐えきれず、「頭の中に火事が起きたような」状態だった彼は、ナイトクラブで遊んだり、コカインを服用して舞台に立ったことも認めている。今は「ほとんどドラッグは辞めた」というが…。
バレエはもっと気楽なスタンスでやり、友人と所有するタトゥーの会社でビジネスをやりたいと当初話していたが、その後ミュージカル「オペラ座の怪人」に出演してその卓越したダンスの健在ぶりを披露。また二月のタマラ・ロホ(元ロイヤルのプリンシパル)のフェアウェルでも「マルグリットとアルマン」でROHへカムバックを果たし、「以前よりも踊るのが楽しい」と発言していた。
現在、イーゴリ・ゼレンスキー率いるモスクワのStanislavsky Music Thater (スタニスラフスキー・ミュージック・シアター)およびNovosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (ノボシビルスク州歌劇舞踏劇場)のプリンシパル。
Sergei Polunin spoke of depression and cutting himself before walk-out
Sergei Polunin, ballet’s prodigal son, spoke of his bouts of depression and cutting himself before he walked out of his latest British production - Midnight Express.
Sergei Polunin rehearsing in Moscow in January Photo: Davide Monteleone/VII Photo
The Ukrainian dancer caused a stir last week by disappearing just days before the opening night of the Peter Schaufuss ballet Midnight Express.
He was said to have fallen out with the director, while friends hinted at depression playing a part in his decision.
In an interview given before his walk-out, he spoke of an inner turmoil, speaking openly about the cuts he has inflicted on his own body to get “adrenaline rushes”.
He told today’s Sunday Times Magazine: “You get to feel good. You do it when you’re kind of down, sort of depressed.
“You just go to sleep normal. You don’t do it when you’re happy. It’s the best therapy for myself, I find.”
The 23-year-old previously walked out on the Royal Ballet in January last year after the pressure became too great, and later admitted he had spent his nights clubbing and even performed while on cocaine.
In his most recent interview, he recalled feeling as if “I got a fire going into my head. And one more thing and that will be it, you know. I will just walk out.”
But he took drugs to satisfy his curiosity, to think about things and “just to learn something”, rather than to party, he insisted. At the time of the interview, he said he had “pretty much” stopped doing it, however.
Earlier in his life he had managed to suppress the pain he felt at the break-up of his parents’ marriage by dint of what he describes as determination.
“I said I would never feel sorry for myself or feel sad about anything again,” he said. “And from thereon…I killed that feeling.”
Hundreds of Midnight Express ticket-holders were left disappointed when he disappeared on Thursday, with fans fearing they will not get their money back from the English National Opera despite his departure.
The production, based on a 1978 Turkish prison drama, is scheduled to open at the London Coliseum on Tuesday, with tickets costing up to £120.
In his most recent interview, he recalled feeling as if “I got a fire going into my head. And one more thing and that will be it, you know. I will just walk out.”
But he took drugs to satisfy his curiosity, to think about things and “just to learn something”, rather than to party, he insisted. At the time of the interview, he said he had “pretty much” stopped doing it, however.
Earlier in his life he had managed to suppress the pain he felt at the break-up of his parents’ marriage by dint of what he describes as determination.
“I said I would never feel sorry for myself or feel sad about anything again,” he said. “And from thereon…I killed that feeling.”
Hundreds of Midnight Express ticket-holders were left disappointed when he disappeared on Thursday, with fans fearing they will not get their money back from the English National Opera despite his departure.
The production, based on a 1978 Turkish prison drama, is scheduled to open at the London Coliseum on Tuesday, with tickets costing up to £120.
