Press Release: International ballet stars come together for Dance for Ukraine at The London Palladium on 18 February

[Jan McNulty]

Press release

Thursday 18 January 2024

 

 

Dance for Ukraine

The London Palladium

Sunday 18 February 2024 at 6.30pm

lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/dance-for-ukraine

 

• Ivan Putrov’s second gala in support of his home country Ukraine, ahead of the anniversary of the war
• Featuring former Bolshoi Ballet superstar Olga Smirnova, making her first UK performances since leaving Russia in protest at the onset of the war
• Stars of The Royal Ballet Marianela Núñez, Martthew Ball and William Bracewell, and soloists from Ukrainian National Ballet to also perform
• Funds raised will support the arts in Ukraine, with a new production for Ukrainian National Ballet of Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, the first British ballet to enter its repertoire
• Tickets on sale now

 

“…the most passionate display of dance that I have witnessed and the most meaningful." The Daily Telegraph on Dance for Ukraine

 

Ukrainian born dancer and former star of The Royal Ballet Ivan Putrov today announces Dance for Ukraine at The London Palladium on Sunday 18 February 2024, following the success of 2022’s gala that raised over £160,000 net for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

 

Bringing together a cast of international ballet stars, this year’s Dance for Ukraine comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion and ongoing war. This special benefit gala will raise much needed funds to support young artists and culture in Ukraine, where ballet is centrally important.

 

The evening will see former Principal of Bolshoi Ballet and current Principal of Dutch National Ballet, Olga Smirnova, make her first performance on a UK stage since leaving Russia in protest of the invasion at the onset of the war. Continuing her ongoing support of Ukraine following performances in galas in Hamburg and Copenhagen.

 

Dance for Ukraine will also feature stars from The Royal Ballet and other leading UK companies including Principals of The Royal Ballet Marianela Núñez, William Bracewell and Matthew Ball. Lead Principals Emma Hawes and Sangeun Lee will also perform. 

 

Alongside Ivan Putrov and soloists of the Ukrainian National Ballet, dancers from Ukraine include Junior Soloist Vsevolod Maievskyi and Artist of The Royal Ballet Marianna Tsembenhoi. Renowned Ukrainian pianist, Sasha Grynyuk, will also perform alongside mezzo-soprano Kseniia Nikolaieva. Further casting and repertoire to be announced shortly.

 

Proceeds from the gala will be used to provide aspiring dancers with grants towards their training to make sure the reality of war affects them as little as possible. Additionally, the funds will go to make a new ballet production for Ukrainian National Ballet of Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. Having this quintessential British ballet join the repertoire of the National Opera House of Ukraine will help lift the spirits of audiences and the artists involved, the same spirit that has emboldened the people of Ukraine during the war. The rights to the ballet have been generously waived by Jean-Pierre Gasquet and the funds raised will pay for the production to be built and staged for the beginning of 2024/25 season.

 

Of Dance for Ukraine, Ivan Putrov said: “It is a privilege for us in the UK to bring a little light, hopefully, to the people of Ukraine. I am thankful to all the artists, creatives and organisations that have donated their services to this cause, and I am proud Olga has chosen to come to our gala in support of Ukraine and make her first appearance in London since leaving Russia. It has always been a dream of mine to bring La Fille mal gardée to Ukraine and I am thrilled it will become the first British ballet to enter the repertoire of Ukrainian National Ballet for audiences to enjoy for years to come.”

 

Nobuhiro Terada, Artistic Director of Ballet at the of the National Opera House of Ukraine said: “Despite this terrible war, we are continuing to perform and are striving to keep the spirits of our dancers and our audiences high. I can’t imagine a more inspiring way to do this than to add this most delightful and heart-warming gem of British ballet to our repertoire. We are hugely grateful to all of those working to make this possible. We send our thanks and gratitude to Jean Pierre Gasquet, for his generosity, to all of the artists taking part and, of course, to the audience for their support.”

 

Internationally renowned dancer Ivan Putrov was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and trained at The Kyiv State Choreographic Institute before moving to The Royal Ballet School. Following his training he joined The Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal after just three seasons. Throughout his career he has danced lead roles in all the classics on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, winning numerous awards for his performances.

 

The first Dance for Ukraine, held at the London Coliseum in 2022, was directed by Ivan Putrov and the international ballet star Alina Cojocaru, who trained in Kyiv. The gala featured a huge range of world-renowned dancers and sold out within 48 hours, raising much needed funds to support those in desperate need following the onset of the war. 

 

Dance for Ukraine is produced by the charity Inspiration in Motion (Charity number 1167669), that promotes dance and the performing arts, with a particular focus on commissioning and supporting new dance works, as well as looking for opportunities to broaden audiences for dance and support education and training.

[alison]

I've only been to the Palladium once - I sat in a supposedly good seat and was shocked at the lack of legroom.  Can anyone advise on what the seating in general is like, and whether I was just unlucky, please?

[Blossom]

 

17 minutes ago, alison said:

I've only been to the Palladium once - I sat in a supposedly good seat and was shocked at the lack of legroom.  Can anyone advise on what the seating in general is like, and whether I was just unlucky, please?

Photos at The London Palladium (aviewfrommyseat.co.uk)

[FionaM]

So no actual dancers from Ukraine involved in this list … only ones currently in RB or ENB.  None of whom have had professional careers in Ukraine.  🤔 

Smirnova left Russia as a ‘trailing spouse’ (as a boss of mine used to call it).  Her husband works for one of the US investment banks who left Moscow immediately two years ago.  It will have been his (or maybe a joint) choice to leave to keep his job.  Fortunately for her, being a prima from the Bolshoi, she was able to get a job at one of the eminent European companies.  I really hope her husband didn’t have to commit financially to support it, she’s good enough not to need that, but I do wonder.  (Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

 

Despite the above, I wish Ivan Putrov all success with this new event.  I admire his entrepreneurship in innovative shows for London. I hope the programme of dance pieces will be interesting like his previous shows have been. 
 

The cause of supporting the staging of ‘La Fille Mal Gardee’ in Kyiv is a big draw for me. 

 

 

[Geoff]

23 minutes ago, FionaM said:

.  (Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

That’s sad to hear. Can you say more?

[FionaM]

3 minutes ago, Geoff said:

That’s sad to hear. Can you say more?

by observation. 

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Proceeds from the gala will be used to provide aspiring dancers with grants towards their training to make sure the reality of war affects them as little as possible. Additionally, the funds will go to make a new ballet production for Ukrainian National Ballet of Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée.

a new La Fille !!

[SheilaC]

Has anyone been able to book the gala? People need a new password but the system won't send me a link, even though I keep getting a message to say that an email has been sent- they've never turned up. And no-one answers the phone.

[FionaM]

1 hour ago, SheilaC said:

Has anyone been able to book the gala? People need a new password but the system won't send me a link, even though I keep getting a message to say that an email has been sent- they've never turned up. And no-one answers the phone.

I’m having the same problem … not receiving an email (and have checked spam/junk folders) with the password reset code. 
 

I can circumvent by setting up a new login with a different email address.  But box office need to fix this.  
 

 

[Bluebird]

I booked without having to log in. I was just asked for my name, address, email address and phone number,

Edited January 18 by Bluebird

[MAB]

4 hours ago, FionaM said:

So no actual dancers from Ukraine involved in this list … only ones currently in RB or ENB.  None of whom have had professional careers in Ukraine.

 

I read the following, both are to the best of my knowledge Ukrainian and have trained there.  More names are likely to be added

5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Vsevolod Maievskyi and Artist of The Royal Ballet Marianna Tsembenhoi.

 

4 hours ago, FionaM said:

(Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

 

Really?  Is that fact in the public domain.?

[JNC]

5 hours ago, Blossom said:

 

Photos at The London Palladium (aviewfrommyseat.co.uk)

was the palladium where they had the Nureyev gala? I think I sat in the cheap seats for that and don’t recall any issues with comfort or sight lines (and I dislike the coliseium uppermost level for lack of legroom/comfort). 

[Amelia]

20 minutes ago, JNC said:

was the palladium where they had the Nureyev gala? 

 

The Nureyev Gala was in the THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE.

[annamk]

6 hours ago, FionaM said:

 

Smirnova left Russia as a ‘trailing spouse’ (as a boss of mine used to call it).  Her husband works for one of the US investment banks who left Moscow immediately two years ago.  It will have been his (or maybe a joint) choice to leave to keep his job.  Fortunately for her, being a prima from the Bolshoi, she was able to get a job at one of the eminent European companies.  I really hope her husband didn’t have to commit financially to support it, she’s good enough not to need that, but I do wonder.  (Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

 

 

 

Do you actually know it wasn't Smirnova's choice to leave Russia ? She was very outspoken about her feelings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

[Sim]

I am not sure that the RB didn’t take any elite dancers due to lack of funding.  They are already top heavy with principals and the first soloist rank is full. They just don’t have room for any more dancers.  The existing ones don’t have enough stage time as it is.  Drafting in more dancers would have exacerbated the situation.  

[Geoff]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

Really?  Is that fact in the public domain.?

If you scroll up MAB you will see that I asked a similar question. Apparently this statement came about as a result of “observation” (so a deduction? a guess?)

 

Edited January 18 by Geoff

[capybara]

28 minutes ago, Sim said:

I am not sure that the RB didn’t take any elite dancers due to lack of funding.  They are already top heavy with principals and the first soloist rank is full. They just don’t have room for any more dancers.  The existing ones don’t have enough stage time as it is.  Drafting in more dancers would have exacerbated the situation.  

Quite; and the RB has elite dancers of its own (not all  fully recognised for the stars they are) whereas Dutch National obviously had more leeway.

[BeauxArts]

7 hours ago, FionaM said:

Smirnova left Russia as a ‘trailing spouse’ (as a boss of mine used to call it).  Her husband works for one of the US investment banks who left Moscow immediately two years ago.  It will have been his (or maybe a joint) choice to leave to keep his job.  Fortunately for her, being a prima from the Bolshoi, she was able to get a job at one of the eminent European companies.  I really hope her husband didn’t have to commit financially to support it, she’s good enough not to need that, but I do wonder.  (Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

 

 

Sadly, I find this an insulting statement to make in respect of Olga Smirnova. it is clear from her Instagram post at the time and her subsequent and measured interviews that she felt unable to continue to dance at the Bolshoi following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She left behind her family and her coaches, and her husband left his family, including his own mother who held - and may still hold - a position of some power and influence in the Bolshoi administration. The financial matters are irrelevant. Had the husband wanted to remain in Russia he surely would and could have done so because of their respective positions within the Putin-regime  business and artistic nomenklatura. 

[Dawnstar]

It feels slightly ironic that they are fundraising in London to put on a new production of Fille in Ukraine when London hasn't seen Fille for too long! The line-up of dancers is certainly appearling but having had a look at the prices I'll have to think about it.

[SheilaC]

3 hours ago, Bluebird said:

I booked without having to log in. I was just asked for my name, address, email address and phone number,

Yes, in the end I emailed them and got a surprisingly quick reply, advising me that I didn't need to log in (despite the instruction when attempting to book) and, as Bluebird says, it turned out to be straightforward to book.

[Geoff]

27 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

It feels slightly ironic that they are fundraising in London to put on a new production of Fille in Ukraine when London hasn't seen Fille for too long! The line-up of dancers is certainly appearling but having had a look at the prices I'll have to think about it.

I’ve taken a ticket at £25

[FionaM]

3 hours ago, annamk said:

 

Do you actually know it wasn't Smirnova's choice to leave Russia ? She was very outspoken about her feelings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

As I said, it would have been an immediate impact driven by her husband’s employer who could not remain in Russia.  So I can only begin to imagine the enormity of the unenviable choice forced upon them  … financially, career wise, and politically.  They will have been very aware of the likely impact on future relationships with family and friends. 
 

[FionaM]

3 hours ago, Sim said:

I am not sure that the RB didn’t take any elite dancers due to lack of funding.  They are already top heavy with principals and the first soloist rank is full. They just don’t have room for any more dancers.  The existing ones don’t have enough stage time as it is.  Drafting in more dancers would have exacerbated the situation.  

agree.  
 

Though this is not necessarily true at other ranks where there have not been any external hires of professional dancers from Ukraine or those fleeing Russia either.  Maybe offers were made that were turned down. 

[FionaM]

@MAB

 

Regarding Ukrainian dancers … I said none listed had had professional careers in Ukraine.  

 

Marianna Tsembenhoi trained in Ukraine prior to joining the first year of the three year programme at the RB Upper School.  I watched the RB diversity discussion a few years ago where she said she’d been warned she could not have a career in ballet in Ukraine due to her skin colour.  
 

Vsevolod Maievskyi trained in Kyiv and with Ellison Ballet in NY, before joining the Mariinsky for 4 years, until February 2022.  He says his grandmother is Russian which must make things even more complicated for his family.
https://parkmagazineny.com/dancing-for-life-an-escaped-ukrainian-dancers-story-vsevolod-mayevskyi/

[Blossom]

11 hours ago, JNC said:

was the palladium where they had the Nureyev gala? I think I sat in the cheap seats for that and don’t recall any issues with comfort or sight lines (and I dislike the coliseium uppermost level for lack of legroom/comfort). 

No, that was at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. 
I don’t like Palladium stalls - I recall it being quite tight.

[TSR101]

10 hours ago, BeauxArts said:

 

Sadly, I find this an insulting statement to make in respect of Olga Smirnova. it is clear from her Instagram post at the time and her subsequent and measured interviews that she felt unable to continue to dance at the Bolshoi following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She left behind her family and her coaches, and her husband left his family, including his own mother who held - and may still hold - a position of some power and influence in the Bolshoi administration. The financial matters are irrelevant. Had the husband wanted to remain in Russia he surely would and could have done so because of their respective positions within the Putin-regime  business and artistic nomenklatura. 

 

17 hours ago, FionaM said:

Smirnova left Russia as a ‘trailing spouse’ (as a boss of mine used to call it).  Her husband works for one of the US investment banks who left Moscow immediately two years ago.  It will have been his (or maybe a joint) choice to leave to keep his job.  Fortunately for her, being a prima from the Bolshoi, she was able to get a job at one of the eminent European companies.  I really hope her husband didn’t have to commit financially to support it, she’s good enough not to need that, but I do wonder.  (Royal Ballet wasn’t able to arrange extra funding to hire any elite dancers that left Russia.)

 

I would say Fiona to attack Smirnova to suggest self-interested motives for leaving a murderous war-starting regime - given your ardent support for Polunin (and therefore in turn his support for Putin) - just seems rather twisted to me. 

[Mary]

I haven't been to the Palladium for - gulp, er - 53 years! I expect it might have changed slighltly.

 

Does anyone have advice for where to sit for dance- mid range seats - though I don't mind paying a little more than usual as it is such a good cause.

 

[MAB]

Avoid the stalls.

[Sim]

Hi everyone.  Can we please stick to discussing the dancing, the cause and the venue, and not bring politics into it, difficult though that may be.  Thank you.

[Blossom]

Thrilled to see more Smirnova after going to DNB for Raymonda. Secretly hoping we will get a pdd from this… Looking forward to seeing who else is announced. Would love to see Maia Makhatelli (also DNB) again.

[capybara]

Thrilled that the amazingly entrepreneurial  Ivan Putrov is mounting a second Gala for Ukraine.

 

The amount of work involved behind the scenes for a small charity such as his (Inspiration in Motion) must be astronomical but he always manages to deliver in spades.

 

Hoping that, individual resources permitting, everyone on here will show their support for the aim and the programme.

[TSR101]

56 minutes ago, MAB said:

Avoid the stalls.

 

As someone 5'9, I booked Row E in the stalls on the side for a different non ballet show there prior to the pandemic and had a completely clear view of the stage and performance, and I didn't remember the legroom to being any less restrictive than many other older London theatres. 

[LinMM]

I sat in Palladium only the once for Emerging Dancer a few years back and am having to really think hard where I was sitting but think it was towards the back of the stalls. I didn’t have any problem seeing the stage anyway but I’m tallish and maybe that makes a difference.