Lreality always surpasses fantasy. In every sense, unfortunately. Three months ago who would have imagined the unspeakable happening in Ukraine? And, three months ago, who would have imagined that on 15 and 17 May six students of the Kiev dance school e Kharkiv would perform on the Scala stage? And instead … “On March 5, the first email arrived asking us to welcome a young dancer, to whom others were added shortly after” remembers the general manager of theTheater AcademyLuisa Vinci. “We immediately took action to offer them the opportunity to attend our courses, Italian lessons (even for families) and more for free: thanks to the contribution of Community of Sant’EgidioofOpen Space Community Association – and thanks to an internal fundraiser between employees and patrons – they found accommodation and were placed in school, middle school or high school with an agreement with us ».
The six Ukrainian students of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. Bottom left: Sofiia, 15, Daria, 10, Olha, 11, Mariia, 13; above: Polina, 11, and Aleksa, 10 (photo Annachiara Di Stefano)
“Our house destroyed”
And so on May 15th and 17th there will be – together with the other students – also Aleksa, Daria, Sofiia, Mariia, Olha and Polina at Piermarini in the show in memory of Loreta Alexandrescu, a beloved teacher who passed away in February. Scheduled for the Presentation conceived by Frédéric Olivierithe director of the Academy’s dance schoolon Bach notes, Wide by Matteo Levaggi, Allegro Canon by Valentino Zucchetti and – grand finale – Serenade from George Balanchine, with music by Pëtr Il’ič Čajkovskij. A Russian author, yes, because – as fifteen-year-old Sofiia notes – art has nothing to do with politics, on the contrary: «Art makes bad thoughts melt».
“Usually students are admitted after an audition, in this case we judged on the basis of the videos they sent us” explains Olivieri. underlining how this welcome is not a purely humanitarian gesture, but performed in the name of dance «At the beginning you saw the sadness in their eyes, after a few days the light that means passion and dream returned. It is terrible for those who dance to have to stop ».
Sofiia (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano)
“I was even trying to make the barrier by train: I traveled 17 days to reach Milan from Kharkiv” confides Daria, 10 years old and already studying. Maxim Nikonov, son of the teacher Tatiana Nikonova, translates her words from Russian (the little ones are bilingual), who has offered to help the newcomers as a linguistic mediator. «With my mother we immediately decided to run away: we took our rabbit and away… I find it hard to remember all the countries we passed through. But one thing I remember perfectly: we were still in western Ukraine when they sent us pictures of our house. Destroyed ».
Daria (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano).
Fantasy or tv series
“Until the last moment I didn’t intend to leave: I didn’t want to leave my brother and my dad. But I understood that life had to go on, that dance had to go on, which for me is life “says Polina, 11, struck when she was four years old. Swan Lake seen in Kiev. She likes everything about Italy, except… pasta. «My grandmother loves tortiglioni, I beg you not to cook them for me. Besides, I couldn’t eat them, I’m a dancer ».
Here, not even in such a destabilizing moment is there the temptation to “yield”, to spare oneself some sacrifices. “They are not sacrifices, discipline does not tire me” intervenes Sofiia, the oldest of the six (“I feel a bit responsible, I try to support them”), who had already been here at the Academy for a couple of summer internships and chews a bit of Italian. “Nothing comes easy, you need commitment to perfect yourself. When my technique progresses, I feel better, happier ».
Aleksa (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano)
These new TV series – like Tiny Pretty Things – on the world of dance, therefore, do they exaggerate in emphasizing the negative aspects, such as stress and competitiveness? “I don’t look at them, I prefer to read fantasy or the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, my favorites.”
Escaped with her mother and two little sisters, two twins, to Poland, where their father works, she was joined there by her grandmother, who took her with her to Italy. Sofiia already has clear ideas: she hopes to stay here even when the conflict ends, in this prestigious school that has existed since 1813 (there were 12 students at the time, compared to 170 today) and has trained talents of the caliber of Carla Fracci, Liliana Cosi, Luciana Savignano, Roberto Bolle, Massimo Murru, Nicoletta Manni and Jacopo Tissi.
Molina (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano).
I will pursue my dream
“In Ukraine I criticized everything, starting with the streets: now I realized that I didn’t appreciate my life enough, I should have been more grateful: now nothing will be as it was,” Mariia, 13 years old, observes wisely as an adult. “The last night I begged my mother to wake up early, I had two checks at school. I opened my eyes at noon, and I got angry: “Why didn’t you call me?”. “The war has begun” ».
Olha (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano).
“The everyday life in Kiev was beautiful: waking up, going to school, going to dance class, doing homework late,” agrees Aleksa, 10. Who, however, does not allow himself to be discouraged: “I will pursue my dream: to become a prima ballerina” she proclaims, and bursts out laughing, fearing that she had shot too big … “When the war started we couldn’t believe it, it didn’t cross our minds the idea of leaving. But then they started bombing near us (we lived not far from a military infrastructure), it was difficult even to go underground because a relative of mine is disabled. We just took two things – pants, pants – and we ran away ».
“When the bombing started and a fire broke out next to the house we fled to the West, then to Budapest, to London and then back to Budapest and, finally, to Milan: what a happiness to meet Aleksa, we were studying together in Kiev” explains Olha. 11 years. “A month without dancing seemed very long to me.”
Mariia (photo Anna Chiara Di Stefano).
Thanks, Italy
“They are all extremely motivated and I have already noticed progress since I have been here,” says Olivieri. But isn’t there some didactic difference between you and the Kiev and Kharkiv Academies that complicates the insertion? “Basically, a plié is a plié, a pirouette a pirouette and a tendu a tendu … The difference lies in the speed with which we insert the study of new steps: here we tend to anticipate, we have a dynamic methodology. But I see them absolutely at ease. Some of them studied at the Academy and took private contemporary lessons, while professional dancers come out from here with training in both classical-academic and modern-contemporary dance ».
Before saying goodbye, the little dancers are all keen to express gratitude for Italy: they did not expect to be greeted with such affection, they did not expect the thrill of seeing the Ukrainian flag flying on the balconies.
“Can I add something?” asks Daria softly “I would also like to thank for the uniform they gave us at the Academy: it is beautiful!”
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