"When I dance, I forget the war": at the kyiv Opera, dancing under the bombs, but no longer "Swan Lake"

Report : Despite the missiles, the ballet company at the Kiev Opera House continues to dance on stage, in front of a sparse audience. But there is no longer any question of performing "Swan Lake" or any other Russian classic.

It's a burst of pure beauty that, even captured on the tiny screen of a phone, pierces your heart. On the stage of the National Opera in Kyiv, prima ballerina Olga Kifyak-Fon-Kraimer, all dressed in black, unfurls the veils of her costume. She takes flight, her pointe shoes skimming the floor. Behind her, a giant screen bathing the stage in phosphorescent light displays the photo of a smiling man. It's her brother Dmytro, who died in Bakhmut on August 8, 2022, at the age of 42. Dissolved, Dmytro's photo gives way to that of Oleksander Shapoval, 48, one of the pillars of the Opera's ballet troupe. Also killed at the front, a month after Dmytro. Dmytro had one child, Oleksandr Shapoval, two. They had no military experience, but had enlisted at the beginning of the Russian invasion. More images pass by. More smiling men.

“After his death, I dreamed of Dmytro; he made me promise to dance for him. I went to see one of the Opera's choreographers, and we worked hard together to create this piece. I danced all the time. That's what kept me going.” Olga wipes away her tears, then…

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