Anastasia Shevtsova is a talented dancer: she was part of the renowned Vaganova Academy in Saint Petersburg before shooting the movie, and was afterwards admitted in the famous Mariinsky ballet, also in Saint Petersburg. Originally from a classical background, she practiced modern dance for as long as six months for the movie.
The movie contains some autobiographical elements: Angelin Preljocaj's parents were poor Albanian refugees (Polina's parents are lower middle class Russians); when he came to France he first lived in a modest suburb (Polina struggles financially after she leaves Aix); he studied classical dance before moving on to modern (just like Polina).
As many as 600 dancers were auditioned by the directors for the main female role.
The Aix-en-Provence building in which Polina practices is actually director and choreographer Angelin Preljocaj's dance venue: Le Pavillon Noir (The Black Pavilion). It was inaugurated in 2006.