The newly formed United Ukrainian Ballet will perform at the London Coliseum this September, it has been announced.
Formed in response to the Russian invasion, the United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation exists to protect, support and spread Ukrainian culture. It is made up of dances who fled Ukraine and have found safe haven in The Hague.
Five large dance studios and classrooms at the former Royal Conservatoire in The Hague have been converted into bedrooms for the company who live and work at the centre. They are supervised by former prima ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet, Igone de Jongh, who provides instruction along with other repetiteurs from the Kylian Foundation.
Alexei Ratmansky, a world renown Ukrainian choreographer is creating a new Giselle for the Company, which they will perform with the support of English National Opera and Birmingham Royal Ballet. The season will feature guest performances from Alina Cojocaru and Katja Khaniukova.
The sets and costumes, designed by Hayden Griffiths, are generously loaned by Birmingham Royal Ballet and the dancers will be accompanied by the full orchestra of the English National Opera, under the baton of Viktor Oliynyk, conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine.
Each member of the Company has their own story of how they escaped the devastating war in their homeland to reach safety and join the Company. The personal journeys of the refugee dancers, and the urgency of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, resonate powerfully with Giselle’s timeless themes of love, betrayal, death and mercy.
All profits from ticket sales will be given to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and the United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation, which has been set up in the Netherlands to protect, support and spread Ukrainian culture.
Giselle, performed by the United Ukrainian Ballet will run from 13 September 2022 until 17 September 2022 at the London Coliseum.
