Fled Ukrainian dancers from the United Ukrainian Ballet company are coming to Amstelveen this weekend for a ‘powerful’ performance. “We can handle anything.”
Fled Ukrainian ballet dancers come to Amstelveen – NH News
Those are the words of 19-year-old Evelina Chapska, who has been living in the Netherlands since June. “I realize that I am dancing for Ukraine and Ukrainian culture… to show the world our strength,” she tells reporter Celine Sulsters, who speaks to her in one of the dance halls of the old Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
When the war started, the girl rushed to Lithuania to finish her studies. Then she came to The Hague, where a group of sixty Ukrainian ballet dancers live together and have the space to dance. In recent months, they have been able to rehearse a few meters from their bedrooms in the various dance halls.
“It was very small and I couldn’t be alone for a while, which I was used to”
Evelina has to get used to the situation in the beginning. She enters a room with six other girls. “It was very small and I couldn’t be alone for a while, which I was used to,” she says. She now shares her room with fewer girls, but the group has to move shortly after the performance because the building is being demolished. Evelina does not yet know what the situation will be like.
Despite the discomfort and sadness, the dancer is mostly happy. “To be safe and to be able to do the job I love: dancing. I’ve always loved to dance. Not just ballet, but to different types of music,” the young woman beams.
A room away, Oleksiy Grishun has just finished training. He is looking forward to the premiere next Sunday. “It’s something new for us. It’s not classic, but modern. We really enjoy the process and working with different choreographers.”
“If you’re feeling really bad, you can just come here and dance”
Dancing has helped him to deal with the grief of the war. “If you’re feeling really bad, you can just come here and dance. Or just lay down on your own with music on. You can come here to feel better,” he explains.
Evelina agrees: “When I dance I play a part and live a different life. I can think about something else, so it really helps me.”
‘Dancing in defiance’ will premiere on Sunday at 8 p.m. in Stadsschouwburg Amstelveen. The United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation was founded by prima ballerina Igone de Jongh and Senf Theaterpartners to protect, support and spread Ukrainian ballet and dance culture.