AnOther caught up with celebrated dancer and producer Ivan Putrov, as his stunning show Men in Motion returns to London.
There are few people who are as fully immersed in the world of ballet as Ivan Putrov. The son of a soloist and a principal dancer, Ukrainian born Putrov was “raised in the theatre”, before becoming an award winning dancer and producer in his own right. Having made his first stage appearance just aged 10, Putrov carefully honed his craft for a number of years, going on to become The Royal Ballet’s principal in 2002. More recently, he has dedicated his time to his on-going project Men in Motion, a show designed to ‘highlight the range, virtuosity and splendour of the male dancer’, which makes its return to London next week.
“The concept is to explore and discover the evolution of the male dancer in the past century” Putrov explains, “It is really only in this time that the man has gained the right to perform centre stage, before the beginning of the 21st century it was unthinkable that a man would take his curtain call first.” The predominantly male cast is a more than unusual concept in ballet, but Putrov has made it as accessible as possible, rounding up some of the worlds best dancers and some (musical) helping hands from the likes of The Pet Shop Boys and Nina Simone. “It was absolutely essential for the project to have new musical creations, it cannot be current if it doesn’t have that aspect. There is so much to the show that makes it extremely interesting, not just for ballet goers, but for all different layers of society. In 100 minutes we’re showing a century of dance, it’s going to be a very dynamic, exciting show. Nobody is going to be bored!”
"In 100 minutes we’re showing a century of dance, it’s going to be a very dynamic, exciting show. Nobody is going to be bored!"
Putrov is a modern day pioneer of his art, combining classical and modern dance with apparent ease, his passion for the subject is what continues to drive him, “I love this world, I want to make it more exciting and show the public the best of it. Dancers were all kids with dreams, the real dream – why we dance – is because we want to create, we want to be part of it, it’s so rewarding to see people getting infected with this inspiration, and when everything falls together it’s an absolutely incredible sensation.”
Men in Motion is showing at the London Coliseum from 30-31 January, find out more here.
Text by Rhiannon Wastell
