Born in Kherson, Polunin started out in gymnastics before switching to ballet at the age of eight and attended the Kyiv State Choreographic Institute. After graduating, he joined the British Royal Ballet School at the age of 13 in 2003. Polunin has received numerous awards, including the Prix de Lausanne and Youth America Grand Prix in 2006, and in 2007 was named the Young British Dancer of the Year. In 2010, at the age of 20, Polunin became the Royal Ballet's youngest ever male principal dancer. After two years, he quit the ballet company to focus on a freelance career. As a freelance principal dancer, Polunin has been a guest artist at various theatres worldwide such as Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells Theatre, Bolshoi Theatre, Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre, La Scala Theatre, Teatro San Carlo and was a guest artist for the Bayerisches Staatsballet.
