The National Ballet of Ukraine, together with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, opened their 2024 tour of the United States – an emotional, historic and innovative tribute to Ukrainian culture and dance – at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on October 8.
The tour, which is scheduled to include some 16 shows throughout the United States and includes a floor-to-ceiling, stage-wide three-dimensional video backdrop, was promoted under the banner Nadiya Ukraine, or Hope Ukraine, with proceeds and donations from the tour earmarked to support humanitarian projects in the war-ravaged country.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova opened the show at the Kennedy Center with introductory remarks.
“Thank you so much for joining us in America’s cultural powerhouse to experience the magic and majesty of the National Ballet of Ukraine that embarks today upon the first U.S. tour since Ukraine became independent 33 years ago,” said Ms. Markarova, who asked the audience to be mindful of how members of the National Ballet of Ukraine must train and perform amid Russia’s war on their homeland.
“But think of dance and ballet under constant fear of air raid sirens going off, warning of a Russian missile attack, sometimes in the midst of a performance. Unfortunately, this is Ukraine’s reality these days, and regrettably, tragically, interrupted performances became a routine. Yet we together cannot allow this unjustifiable war to become routine. We cannot allow the protracted battle to dull our senses and let Russia’s war crimes turn into the new normal. Ukraine’s ballet dancers are here today to remind us all of what is at stake, not just for Ukraine but for all of us,” said Ms. Markarova, adding that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in February 2022, more than 120 Ukrainian cultural figures have died defending Ukraine.
“Among them – I want to recall them today – Oleksander Shapoval and Artem Datsyshyn, the soloist of the National Ballet of Ukraine, who joined Ukraine’s territorial defense units as volunteers at the very beginning of this war and they were killed in battle,” Ms. Markarova said.
“Today, as we will see the beautiful performance, 26 members of the National Opera House of Ukraine – including ballet dancers, opera singers, technicians and administrative staff – serve in Ukraine’s Armed Forces as we speak. They, just as millions of Ukrainians, are holding that thin line between freedom, dignity and human rights on one side – on our side – and authoritarianism, loneliness and hatred on the other side,” said Ms. Markarova, adding that each show of the tour “will be in honor of this remarkable example of resilience, valor and resolve.”
“Let this tour also be a celebration of all the things that bind our two great nations together – love of freedom, respect for democracy, respect for human dignity and the pursuit of peace and beauty, which we know will win over tyranny and destruction,” the Ukrainian ambassador said to applause.
The performance began with a short video of footage from Ukraine set to the music “Prayer for Ukraine” (Молитва за Україну) before the National Ballet of Ukraine took the stage to perform highlights from its classical repertoire that were selected to showcase Ukrainian culture and identity.
The program included some of the most beautiful, challenging and emotionally gripping dances from the classical ballet repertoire, including “La Bayadere,” “Giselle,” “The Dying Swan,” “Don Quixote” and “Harlequinade,” many of which were adapted for the company by Ukrainian choreographers.
The audience also witnessed the color, energy and artistry of the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, Canada’s only professional Ukrainian dance company, which dazzled guests here with high-energy performances that included the Ukrainian folk dances “Bukovynian,” “Zakarpatsky” and “Verbunk.” Shumka capped the entire night with the crowd-favorite “Hopak” that culminated with a thundering standing ovation from the audience.
The entire performance saw 44 elite dancers from the two companies perform before a state-of-the-art, massive 3-D screen, that immersed the audience in various scenes, among them some of the destruction inflicted upon Ukraine. According to tour producers, it was the first time that any dance company performed using such technology.
Also in attendance for the opening performance were U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro and their families.
Funds raised through donations made during the performances will go to support humanitarian projects in Ukraine in partnership with HUMANITE Peace Collective.
Jeremy Courtney, the organization’s chief executive officer, also addressed the audience at the Kennedy Center, saying that “the greatest threat to the people of Ukraine may not be what some of us think it is.”
The greatest threat, Mr. Courtney said, “is what happens when the world sits by and watches a group of people suffer for too long. To the outsider, war starts to seem normal. Like those people are somehow just used to suffering. Maybe this is why, three years in, we don’t hear much anymore about the dire humanitarian needs that are still multiplying across Ukraine. Maybe we’ve all become just a little too numb to the pain of our neighbors.”
“This normalization of Ukrainian suffering is, of course, how it always goes. And this is why HUMANITE, a group founded by refugees and war survivors, approached the National Ballet of Ukraine with a novel idea to move the focus off the ongoing bombings so that we could re-normalize the beauty of the Ukrainian people. So that next time you read a headline about Russia bombing an apartment building or hospital, you think about this talent, these smiles and these love stories being erased. If we succeed tonight at our highest level, it will be because we’ve all realized that we belong to each other,” Mr. Courtney said.
“And this is why Evil always attacks art, music and dance. Evil knows that it can make us numb to the suffering of our neighbors. Evil comes along and strips away history and identity, until the only thing we remember about a people is that they always seem to be at war,” he said.
“In this time of extreme division and polarization, we’re here, united. So, let’s make it count. Let’s finish the next bomb shelter. Let’s fund another underground classroom. For the children of Ukraine, for the sake of our own peace, and for the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible,” Mr. Courtney said.
Source: The Ukrainian Weekly