The Ukrainian United Ballet consists of Dutch refugee dancers. The company will perform GiselleChoreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
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Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
The Ukrainian United Ballet consists of Dutch refugee dancers. The company will perform GiselleChoreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
About 60 Ukrainian dancers are preparing to travel from The Hague, Netherlands, to Washington, DC, where they will perform Gisellewith choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, at the Kennedy Center.
The dancers are refugees who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion. With help from local officials and dance experts, they formed the group Ukrainian United Ballet Company. The artistic director is Igone de Jongh, a former principal ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet.
The stories of how these dancers fled Ukraine by train, bus, car and on foot are cluttered. Vladyslava Ihnatenko was dancing with the Odesa Opera House when the Russians invaded. She decided to leave when she heard an explosion coming from her apartment.
Exceptions for male dancers leaving Ukraine
“The most difficult moment was when I took the train from Odesa to leave and there were a lot of children, old people and animals on it. And of course everyone was shocked,” Ihnatenko told NPR by phone from Netherlands.
At first, almost all the dancers who came to the Netherlands were young women. Most Ukrainian men are not allowed to leave the country. But with the creation of this new company, Ratmansky said, the government made an exception.
“The Minister of Culture of Ukraine thought it was an important initiative, so they allowed the men,” he said.
Lead dancer Oleksii Kniazkov is one of them.
“I’m not a soldier, a warrior. I don’t know anything about this stuff,” Kniazkov told NPR by phone from the Netherlands, “but I can dance, and I hope it helps. more for supporting Ukraine.”
Like all the other dancers in the company, Kniazkov left behind family and friends. His mother is in the Donetsk region.
United Ukraine Ballet Company members Liza Gogidze and Oleksii Kniazkov in Gisellechoreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
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Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
United Ukraine Ballet Company members Liza Gogidze and Oleksii Kniazkov in Gisellechoreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
“Now it’s like the most dangerous place, but she wants to stay at home. She doesn’t want to leave there,” he said. He recently learned that a garden near his parents’ home – and where he played as a child – was bombed.
Ratmansky, a former dancer, has choreographed for major companies such as Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He was the artistic director of Bolshoi Ballet from 2004 to 2008. He was born in St. Petersburg, grew up in Kyiv and trained in Moscow. His mother is Russian and his father is Ukrainian.
Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky rehearsing Giselle with United Ukraine Ballet in The Hague.
Johan Molenaar/Ukrainian United Ballet
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Johan Molenaar/Ukrainian United Ballet
Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky rehearsing Giselle with United Ukraine Ballet in The Hague.
Johan Molenaar/Ukrainian United Ballet
Both he and his wife have friends and family in Ukraine. He said every morning, before he and the dancers go to work, they check their phones. “We are all afraid of the news from Ukraine because we only know where and how many people have been killed by the Russians.”
But he says emotions don’t get in the way of work, “because the dancers are very disciplined.” He added, “It’s helpful to work, to focus on something else. And we also feel that we’re doing it for Ukraine.”
The company has dancers from around the country, ‘like a miniature Ukraine’
Last year, the United Ukrainian Ballet Company performed Giselle in London, with sets and costumes borrowed from the Royal Ballet of Birmingham and music provided by the British National Opera.
Dancer Vladyslava Ihnatenko hopes this year’s trip to the Kennedy Center will remind American audiences that the war is still on.
Based in The Hague, the United Ukraine Ballet features dancers fleeing the Russian invasion. Implementation company Giselle at the Kennedy Center next week.
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
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Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
Based in The Hague, the United Ukraine Ballet features dancers fleeing the Russian invasion. Implementation company Giselle at the Kennedy Center next week.
Altin Kaftira/Ukrainian United Ballet
“We can show people and tell our story and also [let] more people know about the situation,” she said. “It’s good that people ask how the situation is in Ukraine and how they can help us.”
The Ukrainian United Ballet consists of dancers from all over the country — different theatres, cities and regions. Knialdov said it was “like a miniature Ukraine” showing “the unity of our country.”
