Ballerina dances on bulb cruise ship in Antarctica

Victoria Dauberville, a French dancer, thought it would be a nice Instagram moment to be filmed dancing on the bulb of the cruise ship Ponant in Strait Lemaire, Antarctica.

The mesmerising moment was captured by Dauberville’s friend, Mathieu Forget, a versatile artist known as ‘The Flying Man’ for his gravity-defying photo series featuring Olympic athletes in Paris 2024. Meanwhile, Dauberville’s post already has more than 420,000 likes on Instagram.

When Dauberville and Forget were invited on a cruise to Antarctica on the Ponant, the couple thought it would be a unique opportunity to bring their two worlds – movement and storytelling – together.
“Antarctica represented a reset – a blank page in every sense. After spending years in the structured, competitive sports world, I felt the need to reconnect with pure creativity and nature,” Forget explained, “Antarctica, with its pristine landscapes and raw power, was the perfect place for that. We knew the conditions would be challenging, but we also knew that if we succeeded, it would be spectacular.”

Practising in calm waters

Once on the cruise, the couple met the captain and helmsman, who told them about the rare opportunity to gain access to the bulb of the boat – a place normally off limits. The crew also offered to position the ship to create a beautiful backdrop.

The couple started practising in South Georgia, where there were no icebergs, to see how stable it was. “I started taking photos and videos. The contrast between her movements, her tutu and the dramatic environment was even more striking than we imagined,” Forget said. He added that the biggest challenge was working with the weather – the freezing temperatures, the wind and the constant movement of the ship. “But the most special moment was seeing everything come together. Victoria’s graceful movements against the raw power of the ice and sea. It was surreal,” Forget said.

Inspiration

To what extent the couple was inspired by the iconic photo the captain of the Queen Mary 2 had James Morgan take, or that of Hugo Boss’ CEO Alex Thompson on the keel of his yacht, Forget does not mention in the interview. And whether Dauberville’s performance also adds a new dimension to Antarctic tourism is also unclear.

Source: Bored Panda. The instagram post (with video of Victoria Dauberville) can be found here.
Photos by Dauberville: ©Dauberville.

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