Valery Panovs autobiography, Scene From The Wings, reveals the workings of the ballet world: behind the stardust and the fame Panov is a man living through the prism of his art. The creative process motivates and steers his life, but it is also a ruthless moral compass setting him on a collision course with all his women: he finds them baffling and they find him lacking. The story opens in 1974 following Panovs struggle to leave the Soviet Union. Successful and acclaimed, but blinded by sophistication and in love with beauty, he begins to tread a dangerous path.