Change your definition of a ballerina right now, and instead of thinking of little girls in pink tutus, think of muscular, lithe men like Oleg Ivenko in tights. The winsome Ukrainian is a celebrated ballet dancer with a principal position (it’s a big deal) with the Tatar State Opera in Kazan. He was voted Best Dancer of the Year on the International Stage in Positano, Italy, earning him the Leonide Massine Prize. He’s also taken first prize in several ballet competitions (yes, they have competitions for ballet—who knew?), and has danced in everything from productions of Sleeping Beauty to Don Quixote, Giselle to Swan Lake, and the classic The Nutcracker. With an impressive dance resume, he was a natural to portray legendary Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in the Ralph Fiennes-directed bio-pic The White Crow (2018), about the story of Nureyev’s defection to the West. (Fiennes played Pushkin.) The film shows off Oleg’s finely tuned dancer's physique in several scenes, usually post-coital with he or one of his numerous male lovers still twisted in the sheets. Highlighted by broad shoulders, a tight set of ab muscles, strong legs, and movements that are both languid and purposeful at once, he is truly, a sight to behold, and one that might lead to search the world wide web for clips of his ballet performances (impressive; Mr. Man may have done some Googling…). More a dancer by trade than an actor, his only other film role is playing another dancer in the ballet-themed movie Joika (2023), starring Diane Kruger. Tutus may have been involved, but Oleg still just does the tights. Yay!
