A Ukrainian ballet made an impromptu stop in Fort Worth due to the breakout war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Kyiv City Ballet left Ukraine in February to tour France shortly before Russia launched its invasion of the nation.
An opportunity opened to bring the Kyiv City Ballet to the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, where they performed on Monday.
The ballet performed a “Tribute to Peace,” a dance that was choreographed by Creative Director Ivan Kozlov and Ekaterina Kozlova after the war started.
“We’ve all seen the scenes of war in Ukraine, and it’s heartbreaking,” suggested Performing Arts Fort Worth President and CEO Dione Kennedy.
“They could not go back home, so, it just became more important it seemed for people in the United State [sic] to see what they do as an art form,” said Kennedy.
The opportunity to bring the Kyiv City Ballet could not be passed up.
“It was just a resounding, ‘we absolutely have to do this!’ There’s no better way to do this than through our art form,” said Texas Ballet Theater Executive Director Vanessa Logan.
“Ballet is a universal language,” Logan added.
Since leaving Ukraine, the Kyiv City Ballet has been unable to return carefully and has crafted the dance to express their feelings about the war.
“I’m grateful to those troops, the warriors who fight for our country, who save our families, who save us so that we still exist. We can still call ourselves Kyiv City Ballet from Ukraine,” said Kozlov.
“For us, it is important because we can continue to represent our country this way, resilience, strength, power of our country. That nothing can break us. The show must go on,” she said.
