Ballet dancer Sergei Polunin is a special guest of this year's edition of Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), the organizers of the event announced.

The public will get to see him perform in the event Sergei Polunin Up, Close and Personal, scheduled for July 29th at Bánffy Castle in Bonțida.

On July 28th, the dancer will meet the public after a screening of Steven Cantor's documentary Dancer at the Students' Culture House in Cluj-Napoca. The documentary looks at Polunin's eventful life.

Polunin is also scheduled to deliver a masterclass at TIFF, with more details to be released. 

The Sergei Polunin Up, Close and Personal show will begin with Bolero, a performance in which Ravel's well-known piece "acquires new dimensions through the movements of the famous dancer, amplified by the visual effects of Teun van der Zalm." Ross Freddie Ray created the concept and choreography of the show. The evening will continue with Sacré, based on Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and inspired by Vaslav Nijinsky's style. Japanese artist Yuka Oishi created the choreography. The event will end with a Q&A with the star.  

Tickets for the two events are on sale at tiff.eventbook.ro.

Born in 1989 in Ukraine, Polunin was at the age of 19 the youngest lead dancer in the history of the London Royal Ballet. He danced at the Bolshoi and the Stanislavsky Theaters, La Scala in Milan and the Paris Opera, and is currently a permanent guest of the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich. He also travels the world with shows produced by Polunin Ink, the dance company he founded. In 2019, he performed alongside Romanian Alina Cojocaru in Johan Kobborg's Romeo & Juliet. David LaChapelle's video for Hozier's song Take Me to Church, starring Polunin, gathered over 29 million views on YouTube. In recent years, Polunin also worked in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (directed by Kenneth Branagh), Red Sparrow (directed by Francis Lawrence), The White Crow (directed by Ralph Fiennes), and Simple Passion (by Danielle Arbid). 

According to current regulations, access to the July 29th event at Bánffy Castle in Bonțida is open only to those who were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least ten days before the event or who can show a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event or a rapid antigen test not older than 24 hours. They need to show proof of vaccination or of a negative test, as well as ID papers.

The 20th edition of TIFF takes place between July 23rd and August 1st.

(Photo courtesy of TIFF)

simona@romania-insider.com