National Ballet of Ukraine set to tour U.S., in first

In October, the team of the National Ballet of Ukraine will go on a U.S. tour, their first since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.

This was announced on Tuesday by tour organizers at a press conference held at the Ukrainian House in Washington, DC, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The best artists of the troupe, based at the Taras Shevchenko National Opera Theater, will visit 16 cities across the U.S. East Coast October 8-30.

On October 8, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., will host the first of the 20 scheduled shows.

The group will perform classical pieces, such as Bayadere, Giselle, The Dying Swan, Don Quixote, and Harlequinade.

Ukrainian ballet dancers will also be joined by dancers from the Canadian folk team Shumka, founded in 1959.

At the press conference, it was noted that the artists of both groups will perform in front of a huge state-of-the-art 3D screen, which will create unique stage effects.

Part of the proceeds from the performances, including from ticket sales, merchandise, and individual donations, will be directed to addressing the humanitarian problems of Ukraine caused by the Russian war.

The tour was organized by Humanite, Princeton Entertainment, and Edward E Haddock Jr Family Foundation, with the assistance of the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA.

The National Ballet of Ukraine is undoubtedly one of the leading ballet groups in the world, Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, recalled, underlining that the tour is designed to demonstrate much more than ordinary ballet performances as this is a symbol of resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people and an opportunity for Ukraine to show its rich and wonderful cultural heritage.

According to the ambassador, not only do ballet dancers showcase Ukrainian culture, “they nurture it”.

It is important that the tour will help raise funds to help victims of Russian aggression in Ukraine, she added.

Humanite chief Jeremy Courtney emphasized that the violence in eastern Ukraine is leaving huge humanitarian gaps, from which children, the elderly, the poor, and displaced persons suffer the most.

Such tours are not just incredible performances and a celebration of culture, but also a bridge between Ukrainians in need and Americans who want to help, he said, adding that for the organization, this is an opportunity to support “Ukrainian friends” and boldly declare that the beautiful can really help fix the ugly and destructive.

As part of the tour, apart from Washington, the dancers will perform in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Boston (Massachusetts), several cities across New Jersey, New York, as well as Charlotte (North Carolina), Atlanta (Georgia), a number of cities in Florida.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, following a protest from the Ukrainian community in New York, a scheduled gig by of the Russian Mariinsky Theater was canceled.