Ballet's Sergei Polunin: Why I walked out on my dream

He is the young dancer who many compare to Nureyev and Baryshinkov - a prodigy who at 19 became the youngest-ever principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.

But Sergei Polunin, a Ukrainian, shocked the dance world in January when he suddenly walked out of the prestigious role.

The dancer, who likes to be compared to James Dean, and owns a share in a tattoo parlour in London, returned to the stage on Tuesday at Sadler's Wells.

In his first broadcast interview since his dramatic exit, he talked to Newsnight's Stephen Smith about why he walked out on his dream.

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