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Seeing Double: Insights From The Team Behind Red Sparrow's Ballet Scenes

ABT principal Isabella Boylston, Jennifer Lawrence's dance double in "Red Sparrow," and Lawrence in a shot from the film. From left: Jayme Thornton for Dance Magazine; Murray Close, Courtesy 20th Century Fox.

As the star of the 20th Century Fox thriller Red Sparrow (opening March 2), actress Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova, a former Bolshoi ballerina who becomes a dangerous and cunning spy. Though ballet is relegated only to the first 10 minutes of the film, Lawrence needed to dance six minutes of Firebird choreography by Justin Peck alongside dancer-cum-actor Sergei Polunin. In the fall of 2016, on Peck's recommendation, director Francis Lawrence invited American Ballet Theatre principal Isabella Boylston to be Lawrence's dance double and asked Kurt Froman, a former New York City Ballet dancer whose many credits include training Natalie Portman for the 2010 film Black Swan, to turn the notoriously clumsy Lawrence into a convincing ballerina in just four months.

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Jennifer Lawrence's Red Sparrow Dance Double is a Star Ballerina

Isabella Boylston and Sergei Polunin rehearsing in Budapest. Photo via @IsabellaBoylston on Instagram.

Not too long ago, we found out that Sergei Polunin would be getting his big Hollywood break with two film roles, including one in an upcoming spy thriller called Red Sparrow. Details about the project have been scarce so far, but we know that the story takes place in modern-day Russia, and revolves around a young dancer who's recruited against her will to participate in an operation against a CIA officer. We also know that other big names are involved: Jennifer Lawrence will star, alongside Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Irons.

All of that would have been exciting enough on its own, but now there are two more major reasons to keep this movie on your radar: Jennifer Lawrence's dance double is none other than Isabella Boylston, and the film is choreographed by none other than Justin Peck.

Both artists have been posting scenic shots of Budapest (where the movie is filming) over the past couple weeks, including glimpses of Boylston and Polunin in rehearsal. While their posts haven't directly referenced the movie, a look at the Red Sparrow IMDB page confirms their roles as dance double and choreographer (scroll down to “stunts" and “other crew"). Polunin's specific role has yet to be announced, but with this kind of ballet star power on board, there's a very good chance that the dancing in the film will be gorgeous—let's hope there will be lots of it.

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Sergei Polunin Gets His Big Hollywood Break

Polunin in a promotional photo for the documentary Dancer.

It looks like Sergei Polunin has finally gotten his wish. The controversial dancer, who abruptly quit The Royal Ballet in 2012 after becoming the company's youngest-ever principal, has repeatedly expressed his desire to be in movies. In fact, his current status as a permanent guest artist at Bavarian State Ballet allows him to have more freedom for outside opportunities. And it looks like he's going to be very busy for a while—earlier this week, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that Polunin has scored not one, but two major movie deals alongside actor heavyweights like Jennifer Lawrence, Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.

While Polunin is no stranger to film—his bio-doc Dancer was released earlier this year, and he gained widespread recognition after starring in David LaChappelle's 2015 video of Hozier's “Take Me to Church"—these two movies take him into Hollywood blockbuster territory. The first is a remake of the 1974 classic Murder on the Orient Express, based on Agatha Christie's crime novel. Kenneth Branagh is set to direct and star in the film, in addition to Depp, Cruz, Judi Dench and Michelle Pfieffer. The other, Red Sparrow, is a spy-thriller set in modern day Russia featuring Lawrence, Joel Edgarton and Jeremy Irons. Polunin's roles in both films have not yet been announced, but Red Sparrow does concern a former ballerina turned Russian spy—fingers crossed that we'll see some dancing.

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