Oleksii Knyazkov believes every Ukrainian has their own battlefield.
As principal artist for the United Ukrainian Ballet, Knyazkov believes the most powerful contribution he can make is through his art form. Along with 49 of his fellow dancers, he will be heading to Australia later this month to tour a production of Swan Lake.
Vladyslava Ihnatenko and Oleksii Knyazkov of the United Ukrainian Ballet.
To support Ukrainian artists and aid in the future rebuilding of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, a portion of each ticket sold on the Australian tour will be donated to the United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation, which will later be given to a wide range of Ukrainian artists.
“Everyone does what they can, and we dance for Ukraine,” Knyazkov says. “Our dance – it’s our voice. We want to speak about Ukraine, about what is happening now in Ukraine. Audiences will be able to understand who we are.”
It’s been a traumatic series of events for him, beginning when he was living in Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine and only 40 kilometres from the Russian border. He was a member of the Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 he was still there and stayed until March 3, under bombardment, unsure whether it was safer to stay or flee.
Oleksii Knyazkov of The United Ukrainian Ballet.
“Every day until the moment of my evacuation from Kharkiv, we heard the explosions of shells and bombers flying over the city,” he says.
“The city centre was under heavy shelling and part of a cluster shell hit the roof of the theatre. There was a fire, but they were able to extinguish it. I really hope the theatre will survive until the end of the war.
“It’s impossible to describe the feelings you’re experiencing in that moment. Every day the Russian army bombs civilian infrastructure, and every day people die from shells. Now every Ukrainian has his own battlefield.”
He fled to the west of Ukraine where his family and relatives remain, though Ukrainian forces have recently reclaimed the entire Kharkiv region.
In July he went to the Netherlands and joined fellow displaced dancers from his country in the United Ukrainian Ballet.
Oleksii Knyazkov with an unexploded rocket in front of Kharkiv city hall.
Former prima ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet, Igone de Jongh, offered to be their artistic director and the dancers were able to take refuge at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where they still live and rehearse together. It was given to the company, with the support of local business and the Netherlands government.
“On August 19, for the first time in half a year after the beginning of the war, I went on stage with the United Ukrainian Ballet,” he says. “For half a year I didn’t know if I’d ever go on stage at all because the war showed that life can be very short.”
Fellow dancer, soloist Vladyslava Ihnatenko, 19, is also from Kharkiv but was in Odesa when the war started, having been a member of the Odesa National Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Her evacuation was much more swift, leaving with only a few belongings, which included her prized pointe shoes.
Vladyslava Ihnatenko of the United Ukrainian Ballet.
“I woke up because of explosions and couldn’t believe this was true and happening for real,” Ihnatenko says. “I picked up a minimum of my stuff. For ballet, I had only one pair of pointe shoes. I went to my friend in Lviv and on March 8, we crossed the border to Poland.
“All of my family has stayed in Ukraine. My parents are in Kharkiv now and I’m really worried about them. I call them every day, not just to talk but to make sure everything’s all right and our house is safe.”
She went to the Czech Republic, Italy and Germany before finding her way to The Hague to join her fellow Ukrainian dancers.
“For me, dance is the clearest way to express my feelings and emotions,” she says. “As a dancer, you can create the best speech about things you love, enjoy, get inspired about, afraid of and despise. Every day, you fight to be able to demonstrate all this spectrum and create your own vision of self-expression.”
Touring Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide with a traditional version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is an experience she may not have ever expected but sees it as a way to share her country’s culture, exchanging traditions and life experience.
“As dancers, we can fight and our language is movement of body and emotions,” she says. “The main goal for me is to bring to the people’s hearts that beauty and love for your country is much stronger than hate and anger. And I think all the Ukrainian dancers now direct their pain and anger to fight for the truth, love, and joy of life.”
The United Ukrainian Ballet will be performing Swan Lake at The Plenary in Melbourne from October 21-23, with performances in Sydney from October 28-30 and Adelaide from November 9-13.
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