Polina (2017) Plot Summary Explained

Polina leaves the Bolshoi after attending a festival where she sees modern dance for the first time. The experience sparks a desire to explore a different kind of movement that feels more expressive and personal than the rigid classical technique she has known. This decision represents her artistic crisis, she realizes classical ballet alone cannot satisfy her growing need for creative freedom.

• bolshoi ballet
• modern dance
• artistic choice
• Aix-en-Provence

After Polina recovers from her ankle injury, she asks choreographer Liria to return to her role. Liria rejects her because Polina has been prioritizing technical perfection over emotional expression throughout her time in the modern company. The combination of her injury, discovering Adrien's affair with Sonia, and her rigid approach to choreography has left her emotionally detached from the work.

• liria
• emotional readiness
• injury
• rejection
• modern dance company

After leaving the modern dance company in Aix-en-Provence, Polina travels to Antwerp on impulse. She calls the number of the first dance company she sees and auditions for them without research or planning. This desperate choice reflects her state of being lost, she has left both the classical and modern worlds but has no clear direction forward.

• antwerp
• audition
• lost
• dance company

Polina auditions for a mysterious man who runs the company. Instead of asking her to perform choreography, he tells her that since she is a dancer and he knows she can dance, he wants her to make him feel something. The audition is unsuccessful because she cannot connect with his vague, emotionally demanding request, she still approaches dance technically rather than expressively.

• antwerp audition
• strange man
• emotion
• dance audition

After failing the audition, Polina cannot find work with any other dance company in Antwerp. Without money or connections, she eventually becomes hungry and homeless. She survives by taking a waitressing job at a bar, which keeps her alive but far from the dance world she loves.

• homeless
• waitressing
• Antwerp
• struggle

Polina returns to the site of her failed audition and meets Karl, a dancer who teaches improv. He invites her to attend his class, where she discovers freedom in dancing without rigid structure or technical demands. Through improvisation, she reconnects with the pure joy of movement, moving beyond the perfectionism that has controlled her entire life.

• karl
• improv
• joy
• freedom
• rediscover dance

When Polina's father dies, she travels back to Moscow. Her mother reminds her that her father always wanted her to be a great dancer. This conversation reinforces her sense of duty to fulfill her father's dream, giving her renewed motivation to continue pursuing dance despite all the hardships she has faced.

• father death
• Moscow
• mother
• motivation
• dream

After Polina and Karl choreograph a duet together, a programmer watches their performance and books them for the Montpellier Festival. This represents the first real validation of her new artistic path, a hopeful sign that her unique blend of classical technique and expressive freedom has found its audience.

• montpellier festival
• karl
• duet
• validation
• hopeful ending

During Polina's ankle injury, her understudy Sonia takes over Polina's role in the production. While Polina is recovering, Sonia and Adrien begin a relationship. The affair happens partly because Polina has been neglecting her relationship, focusing entirely on her craft, and because Adrien is also struggling with the demands of the modern dance program.

• adrien
• sonia
• affair
• betrayal
• understudy

Bojinski notices exceptional talent in young Polina and believes her gift requires strict discipline to reach its full potential. His harsh coaching style is meant to shape her into a great dancer, though it also creates tension between her love of dance and the rigid demands of classical training. This early pressure foreshadows her later artistic crisis.

• bojinski
• ballet school
• strict training
• talent
• pressure