The Frontline Fighters of Ukrainian Culture: The United Ukrainian Ballet

This group of ballet dancers from all over Ukraine were put together right after the February 2022 Invasion of Putin’s War in Ukraine. Their mission was to defend their homeland, but not using the conventional weapons that we immediately think about in war, but rather with art and dance. Underneath all the death and destruction, there is an attack on the cultural identity of Ukraine and how that will be preserved for the future. Ukraine is a sovereign nation with her own unique culture of art and history. The victors write history, as they say. 

Consisting of artists from the national theatres of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and others, each member has their own story of how they reached safety to join the Company. The personal journeys of the dancers and their homeland, and the urgency of the ongoing crisis, resonate powerfully with Giselle’s timeless themes of love, betrayal, death and mercy.

Lead by Alexei Ratmansky and Igone de Jongh, the United Ukrainian Ballet is touring the world in places like Amsterdam’s Royal Carré Theater, the London Colosseum, and ICC Sydney.