Ukraine

[Lifeafterballet]

I am watching the distressing reports and images coming out of Ukraine this evening 😞

My thoughts are with and heart goes out not only to all the Ukrainian people but to all those parents, we are one, who have children dancing in Europe and especially the countries closely affected by Russia’s military action today. 
There is great unease in my ballet sons adopted country and with my other Military son. 
War in Europe is not what I expected today. I’m sorry that this may not appear to be ballet related but I feel it will sadly have a massive impact on the dance world 😢 

[glowlight]

My thoughts are with you @cotes du rhone !

 

I'm lucky that my family aren't directly affected and it is heartbreaking to see.  I can't imagine what it must be like for you with sons who are so close to it.

[FlexyNexy]

My parents lived through Russian occupation of 1968 in Czechoslovakia when tanks barged into our country. Sadly we are fearing that the history is repeating.  I myself lived through soviet regime in our country and wore the pioneer uniform in my primary school. Watching the videos yesterday where kids in Ukraine were practicing drills brought not very nice memories of my childhood. 

[Drdee]

12 minutes ago, FlexyNexy said:

My parents lived through Russian occupation of 1968 in Czechoslovakia when tanks barged into our country. Sadly we are fearing that the history is repeating.  I myself lived through soviet regime in our country and wore the pioneer uniform in my primary school. Watching the videos yesterday where kids in Ukraine were practicing drills brought not very nice memories of my childhood. 

I was telling my daughter today about my experiences of living in Budapest when the wall came down in 1989 and my Hungarian boyfriend’s family and their troubles during the Soviet occupation. I can imagine for many in the arts this will be a troubling time. 

[Ruby Foo]

This must be very distressing for you to watch Flexy Nexy. 
One of my daughters has been trying to get her friend back to Turkey on a repatriation flight for the last 2 days. It's proving impossible. The friend is very, very frightened.

Sad that some things never seem to change 😢

[Tango Dancer]

It's devastating to watch.  I've visited Ukraine a few times on business and it's a wonderful country with lovely, friendly people.  Somehow they've suffered so many hardships but can still welcome visitors with a smile and an open heart.  Kyiv is a lovely thriving city with so much potential and Lviv is a perfect chocolate box of architecture.  People don't visit the country enough but it's amazing and I was so looking forward to returning after Covid.  Ukraine deserves a bright and shining future not this.   I'm so sad to watch what is happening to it and just praying that all the people I met over there are ok and will make it through.  

[FlexyNexy]

59 minutes ago, valentina said:

This must be very distressing for you to watch Flexy Nexy. 
One of my daughters has been trying to get her friend back to Turkey on a repatriation flight for the last 2 days. It's proving impossible. The friend is very, very frightened.

Sad that some things never seem to change 😢

Our Eastern border is now facing with huge queues of people trying to get in. Lots of petitions are out to find some accommodations for families arriving. 

Troubling times ahead, not only for our kids in Europe dancing.

[balletbean]

3 hours ago, valentina said:

This must be very distressing for you to watch Flexy Nexy. 
One of my daughters has been trying to get her friend back to Turkey on a repatriation flight for the last 2 days. It's proving impossible. The friend is very, very frightened.

Sad that some things never seem to change 😢

I’m so sorry to hear about your daughters anguish over her friends. I can understand how scary this all is. 
One of the company members with my DD has her immediate family who live right on the border. With limited internet connections she too has been desperately trying to make contact to find out more as her family. All she knows is that they now on the move further west. So sad to hear of these stories on a personal level 😢🙏🏻

[Blossom]

Desperately upset about the invasion on the lives of the people of Ukraine, especially for the children who have had to live through the uncertainties of Covid to now have an unimaginably worse situation to deal with.

 

Looking at the map, and thinking about the old Soviet regime, it's hard to know if Putin will stop with Ukraine alone. A particularly challenging development thinking of the dance community and important to remember that many Russians are protesting Putin's advance, including politicians.  

 

To those of you with Ukrainian connections, if you think of any practical ways to help, especially thinking of students stuck in the UK, please let me know.

[glowlight]

I'm also really feeling for ordinary Russian people whose lives will be turned upside down by this as well.

[alison]

There's just been an interview on Radio 3 with one of the BBC's new generation artists, a Ukrainian violinist, who went to Kyiv to play a concert and is now stuck there because no men between the ages of 18 and 60 are now being allowed to leave the country because they're expected to stay and fight.  Heartbreaking for everyone there.

[Tulip]

It is so sad. My daughter is performing and working with Ukrainian and Russian colleagues, all of them are good friends, no one wants this war, only one crazy man 

[FlexyNexy]

How sad 😥 

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by FlexyNexy

[Peanut68]

😢

[balletbean]

On 25/02/2022 at 18:20, alison said:

There's just been an interview on Radio 3 with one of the BBC's new generation artists, a Ukrainian violinist, who went to Kyiv to play a concert and is now stuck there because no men between the ages of 18 and 60 are now being allowed to leave the country because they're expected to stay and fight.  Heartbreaking for everyone there.

Sadly there are many other stories similar to this😢. A young lad (19yrs) sent my DD very generous Valentine gifts as he was smitten by her (even though there was an obvious language barrier) before ‘popping home’ to Ukraine for a week to see his family before starting his new contract.  Despite their best efforts no one knows what’s happened to him . 😞😢

Edited March 3, 2022 by balletbean

[Peanut68]

Oh Balletbean, it’s these ‘everyday’ stories that just highlight the God awful situation caused by this unprovoked war unjustly inflicted on the Ukraine nation & its heroic people ….& how we in our ‘safe’ countries cannot ignore it & it’s global effects. 
Just beyond words…& a life lesson too far for your DD or any young persons….and imagine life for those crossing borders as refugees & those still in Ukraine??? Just beyond comprehension.

But it must NOT be beyond justice for the evil perpetrators. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Peanut68
To add

[Kate_N]

1 hour ago, balletbean said:

Despite their best efforts no one knows what’s happened to him

 

Oh that's just awful. Awful.

[LinMM]

Oh dear lots of sad stories here. 
Hope all have good outcomes in the end 😥 

[balletbean]

I appreciate we don’t generally share photos on this forum but felt I wanted to share - throughout all this darkness there is light. 🩰
A local photographer who travelled to Poland with Aid from home captured this young girl practising whilst sheltering in a rescue shelter near Mielec 🇵🇱🤝🇺🇦
 

[Ruby Foo]

Thanks for sharing this balletbean. A little chink of hope and joy amongst the trauma.

[Fiz]

On 03/03/2022 at 20:23, balletbean said:

A young lad (19yrs) sent my DD very generous Valentine gifts as he was smitten by her (even though there was an obvious language barrier) before ‘popping home’ to Ukraine for a week to see his family before starting his new contract.  Despite their best efforts no one knows what’s happened to him . 😞😢Is there anymore news about this poor boy, @balletbean? I confess that this story has haunted me.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Fiz
A chunk of text didn’t copy and paste.

[balletbean]

59 minutes ago, Fiz said:

A young lad (19yrs) sent my DD very generous Valentine gifts as he was smitten by her (even though there was an obvious language barrier) before ‘popping home’ to Ukraine for a week to see his family before starting his new contract.  Despite their best efforts no one knows what’s happened to him . 😞😢Is there anymore news about this poor boy, @balletbean? I confess that this story has haunted me.

Thank you but sadly no news at all.  Which weighs heavy in our hearts with both myself and my DD. We can only but hope and pray for that he is in a place of safety. 🙏🏻

[Fiz]

@balletbeanI really hope he’s safe. He sounds such a lovely person.

[balletbean]

1 hour ago, Fiz said:

@balletbeanI really hope he’s safe. He sounds such a lovely person.

Thank you. I’ve just spoken to my DD and the latest news they have is that he’s still in his home town (still unsure of the actual towns name) but he did say that he has to watch out as the Russian Military are on the streets  😥. 

[alison]

I hope you won't mind if I borrow this thread to highlight the following gala - I know that many "Doing Dancers" don't tend to look in the general forums:

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Fingers crossed for the young man (and all Ukrainians in their hours of danger and suffering).

 

Ivan Putrov and Alina Cojocaru have organised a gala in London on 19th March:

 

Edited to add that I was posting at the same time as Alison!

Edited March 10, 2022 by Jan McNulty

[Aurora3]

It is all so sad! I´m sorry for all Ukrainian and also Russian dancers - they belong to the ballet culture!!

[balletbean]

23 hours ago, Fiz said:

@balletbeanI really hope he’s safe. He sounds such a lovely person.

We’ve just found out that the young lad is in Izmail, in the region of Odessa 🙏🏻

[Fiz]

I pray that he and his family and friends stay safe.

[balletbean]

On 10/03/2022 at 10:35, balletbean said:

I appreciate we don’t generally share photos on this forum but felt I wanted to share - throughout all this darkness there is light. 🩰
A local photographer who travelled to Poland with Aid from home captured this young girl practising whilst sheltering in a rescue shelter near Mielec 🇵🇱🤝🇺🇦
 

A little update. 
The young girl featured has been identified. She is a 15yr old European Ballet Champion having previously represented her country. The Chairman for the DWC (Dance World Cup) is now working closely with his contacts in Poland and other neighbouring countries with the hope of setting up a programme to allow this young lady and others like her to continue with their training (not just ballet but across most genres) during these unsettling times for them all. 🇺🇦🇵🇱🇷🇴🩰

Edited March 14, 2022 by balletbean

[2dancersmum]

I do hope that the young girl and others are able to continue with their training and that this horrible situation in Ukraine soon improves. My DD dances on cruise ships and there have always been several of her cast members from Ukraine as well as quite a few crew from other departments. This time she has 3 male dancers from Kherson - 2 married, one with a young child. Its heartbreaking.

[Birdy]

In an article about Olga Smirnova leaving the Bolshoi for Dutch National Ballet, it also mentioned that the Dutch National Ballet Academy has accepted seven Ukrainian students to take classes there and has found Dutch families for them to live with. I believe YAGP is using their contacts to try to place students in schools in Europe, including at least one at Princess Grace.

[Lildancer96]

It was lovely to see the Polish ballet welcoming Ukraine dancers yesterday on the news - such a sad desperate situation. 

Thinking of everyone who is directly involved and hoping that all your love ones stay safe. It makes all our niggles and problems seem so insignificant.