In the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, it is hard to escape the war with Russia. On some days, when the wind blows in the right direction, residents of the historic city can hear the boom of artillery fire from the front line. Most nights, Russian kamikaze drones packed with explosives buzz over apartment buildings as parents put their children to bed. Frequently — but unpredictably — a Russian ballistic missile would slam into the city.
For many people in Kharkiv, the war with its unrelenting, inescapable proximity, takes a mental toll. However, there is a space in the city where — for a few fleeting hours — the war stops existing.
In the basement of the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, a dance company has created a space protected from drones and bombs, where people can lose themselves in ballet performances.
Photo: Reuters
Last month, the space hosted performances of Chopiniana, performed with full classical pomp, complete with corps de ballet and orchestra.
That marked a milestone for Kharkiv’s cultural life, because it was the first full performance of a classical ballet in the city since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
“In spite of everything — the fact that bombs are flying, drones, and everything else — we can give a gift of something wonderful to people,” said Antonina Radiievska, artistic director of Opera East, the ballet company which staged the performance. “They can come and, even if it’s just for an hour or two, completely immerse themselves in a different world.”
Despite Ukraine’s history of excellence in classical ballet, the art form seems far removed from the everyday lives of Ukrainians in wartime. Daily routines are given over to checking apps for drone attack warnings, sleeping on the metro station floor to escape an air raid or seeking news of relatives on the front line. Pirouettes, pas de deux and chiffon tutus feel a world away.
Nevertheless, the journey of Kharkiv’s ballet through the war mirrors the ways Ukrainian society has adapted and evolved.
In 2022, as Moscow’s troops reached the outskirts of Kharkiv and threatened to capture the city, the theater closed its doors and many of the ballet troupe moved away.
By 2023, the war was grinding on, but the situation in Kharkiv had stabilized after Russian ground forces pulled back. The realization dawned on the city that this was a long game, a new, wartime reality.
Locals started referring to the city and themselves using the Ukrainian word nezlamniy, meaning invincible. It was that year that work began on converting the theater basement into a performance space.
In October 2023, it began to be used as a rehearsal space. In spring the following year, the theater was granted permission to bring in an audience, and it held small-scale ballet performances.
The revival of Chopiniana represents the next milestone in Kharkiv’s wartime cultural journey.
Staging a classical opera again sends a message that Ukraine is still standing, Opera East Director-General Igor Tuluzov said. “We are demonstrating to the world that we really are a self-sufficient state, independent, in all its aspects, including cultural independence.”
The auditorium seats 400 people on stackable chairs, compared with 1,750 in the main theater upstairs, where the plush mustard seats lie empty. The stage downstairs is one quarter the size of the main stage. The aesthetic is gray-painted brick, concrete floors, pipes and electricity ducting running along the walls — a contrast to the varnished hardwood and marble of the space upstairs.
The acoustic qualities of the basement do not match the lofty expanses of the main theater, performers said.
However, Radiievska said that what matters is that she and her troupe can once again perform at their best, in front of an audience.
“An artist cannot exist without the stage, without creativity, without dance or song. It’s like a rebirth,” she said.
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