In February 2015, renowned American photographer David LaChapelle quietly released a video on the internet.

In it, Ukrainian-born Sergei Polunin one of the most famous ballet figures in the world dances alone to Irish singer-songwriter Hoziers Take Me To Church . The bluesy, gospel-like folk song bellows in the background as Polunin jumps to impossible heights in an empty building enveloped in morning light. Between pirouettes, he throws himself onto the floor, tearing at his arms and dragging his feet as if hes struggling to break free of his own body. Four minutes later, the video ends with Polunin kneeling, breathing hard and staring away from the camera.

The video, with no caption to give context to what viewers had seen (save for a note crediting LaChapelle as the director and Jade Hale-Christofi as the choreographer), has since racked up over 15 million views on YouTube and hundreds of comments on Vimeo . This is the embodiment of perfection, one commenter wrote. Simply amazing and beautiful, said another. Thank you so much for this.

When asked whether he was surprised by the internets reaction to his performance, Polunin, formerly the youngest-ever principal dancer at the Royal Ballet in London, paused. I was, yes. I was definitely surprised, he said during an interview with The Huffington Post at New York Citys Greenwich Hotel. David did something really naughty though. He released the video without telling anyone. I mean, it did a great thing. But at first I was shocked.

The Take Me To Church video, it turns out, was commissioned specifically for a documentary film titled Dancer , directed by Steven Cantor and produced by Gabrielle Tana. The film, presented by Sundance Selects, is currently showing at the IFC Center in New York.

In the documentary, the LaChapelle-directed dance is not just a viral video. Its a heavily organized and thoughtfully choreographed swan song. Polunin, a prodigious talent known just a few years ago for his bad boy antics, his tattoos and drug habits , had decided to quit dancing. His Take Me To Church performance, shot shortly before LaChapelle leaked it, was to be Polunins personal goodbye to a passion hed pursued since childhood.