Maverick dancer Polunin seeks to be David Beckham of ballet

The 27-year-old Ukrainian star, who has been in the headlines for rebellious tweets, tattoos and leaving the Royal Ballet, wants to challenge the dance world's established system to provide more creative freedom for its artists.

Citing Beckham's role as a soccer ambassador, Polunin says he is on a mission to make ballet more popular and more accessible for those who can't afford expensive theater tickets.

If you have stars, people like David Beckham of the ballet world, it's just going to bring attention to what we're doing.

While Beckham's star power has helped other top soccer players break into the celebrity world, Polunin plans to use his spotlight to shift the power balance in his industry so dancers have a more of a say in what they perform.

The process of Polunin shooting the video is shown in the new documentary "Dancer" — and was a big part of the evolution of his career.

Polunin will be dancing and acting in "The White Crow" - a feature film about the life of legendary ballet star Rudolf Nureyev, directed by Ralph Fiennes.