2/13/15: Ballet dancer Sergei Polunin absolutely kills it in this video set to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church.” Directed by David LaChapelle, the video is pure and beautiful and perfect. I knew Polunin was talented, but I had no idea he could fly!

He’s a very well-known and well-respected young dancer who became the Royal Ballet’s youngest ever principal dancer in 2010. However, talented as he is, he’s unfortunately likely best remembered for his stunning walk-out from the company in January of 2012 at the age of 22. He was openly distressed about the pressure his position as a principal dancer was putting on him, and he told people he didn’t want to dance anymore. Rumors spread that he was experimenting with heroin and thinking about becoming a tattoo artist.  It was hard to imagine that someone so talented and so successful could just walk away from dance, but shortly after he left Royal Ballet, he landed a principal role at The Stanislavsky Music Theatre in Moscow. Thank goodness!

In case you weren’t already familiar Sergei Polunin, here’s a beautiful, short video about the dancer from 2013.

Choreographer Jade Hale-Christofi is a brilliant dancer himself. Formerly a principal with Ballet Black, Hale-Christofi only recently hung up his dance belt to try his hand at choreography. If this piece is any indication, I certainly hope he keeps at it!