It is nearly impossible to escape the conflict with Russia in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Residents of this historic city can hear the distant rumble of artillery fire from the front line, which is located about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) away, on certain days when the wind changes.
Russian kamikaze drones rumbling with explosives abound as parents go to bed on the night.
Many in Kharkiv are deeply affected by the unrelenting conflict, which began three years after Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet, for a brief period of time, the war seems to have vanished from the city.
A dance company has created a safe haven from drones and bombs, a space where viewers can take themselves in old-fashioned ballet performances, located in a dim, brick-walled basement of the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
This underground venue staged Chopiniana, a ballet from the early 20th century based on Frederic Chopin’s music, in April. The ballet was staged in full classical grandeur, complete with a corps de ballet and orchestra, despite its improvised setting.
The city’s first complete classical ballet performance since February 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, marked a significant milestone for Kharkiv’s cultural life.
Antonina Radiievska, artistic director of Opera East, the ballet company behind the production, said, “In spite of everything, we can give a gift of something wonderful to people, including bombs that are flying, drones, and everything else.”
They can travel and completely immerse themselves in a different world, whether it is just for an hour or two.
Despite Ukraine’s rich classical ballet tradition, the art form now seems far removed from Ukrainians’ daily lives while at war. Daily routines include checking for drone alerts, sleeping on floors in metro stations to avoid air raids, or seeking news about loved ones on the front lines. There are no such things as chiffon tutus, pas de deux, and pirouettes.
The ballet by Kharkiv through the wars, however, shows how Ukrainian society has changed and evolved.
The National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre presented the ballet Giselle on February 23, 2022. Russia launched its full-scale invasion the following day. The theater’s doors were closed as Moscow’s forces advanced toward Kharkiv and threatened to seize the city, leaving the majority of the ballet troupe.
Some regrouped in Slovakia and Lithuania and began producing ballet productions abroad with funding from European countries.
After Russian ground troops withdrew, the situation in Kharkiv, in the northeast of Ukraine, had stabilized by the year 2023, despite the conflict continuing. This was a long-term reality that a new realization revealed itself. The Ukrainian word “nezlamniy,” which means invincible, became a reference to the city and themselves as they began to use it.
The theater’s basement was being worked on to turn it into a performance space the following year. It was being used for rehearsals by October 2023. Authorities opened the theater’s doors the following spring, and small-scale ballet productions, including children’s concerts, resumed.
The next stage in Kharkiv’s cultural development after the war was over, Chopiniana, which was revived.
Igor Tuluzov, Opera East’s director general, says staging a classical opera once more shows how endured Ukraine is. We are demonstrating to the world that we are truly a self-sufficient state, independent in all respects, including cultural independence, he said.
Comparing the 1, 750 seats in the main theater above, where the plush mustard seats are still empty, to 400 people can now comfortably seat in the auditorium with stackable chairs.
The stage has a size a quarter of the main one. The theater’s above-ground, varnished hardwood and marble contrasts starkly with grey-painted bricks, concrete floors, exposed pipes, and wiring. The cavernous main auditorium’s acoustics are, according to performers, below par.
The most crucial thing for artistic director Radiievska is that they can once more perform for a live audience after a protracted pause.
Source: Aljazeera
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