Review: THE NATIONAL BALLET OF UKRAINE 'NADIYA UKRAINE' at The Kennedy Center

The National Ballet of Ukraine and the Shumka Dancers recently performed a beautiful program at the Kennedy Center Opera House aptly titled Nadiya Ukraine, “nadiya” meaning “hope” in Ukrainian. In a two-hour show, the audience witnessed the richness of Ukrainian culture, the bleak interpersonal realities of war, and the courage of Ukrainians to find joy through it all.

In alternating appearances, The National Ballet of Ukraine and Shumka presented a collection of vibrant choreographies with strength and precision. While the dancers of the National Ballet wore heavy expressions, the faces of Shumka shined with huge smiles and cheerful shouts. The back-and-forth allowed for digestibility without downplaying the magnitude of these companies’ performances through wartime.

Dancers performed in front of a massive 3D LED screen which showed colorful films of Ukrainian cities and countryside. Provisionally, I am a fan of the recently more frequent use of video sets in ballet, as it makes performances feel relevant to our current hyper-digital reality.

The technical skill of these dancers was as near to perfect as I have ever seen. Powerful through the legs, dancers sprung upward from the stage and gestured gracefully through nimble limbs. Flexibility was showcased with complete control, a hallmark of excellent ballet. 

The embodied experience of contradiction and conviction in the face of violent international conflict was expressed with stark clarity. This show did not shy away from politics, which was a bold choice made well. 

In the realm of politicization, I know that people think dancing is a luxury. It is often idealized in this way. Moving one’s body for no other purpose but to feel good, or express oneself, or “entertain,” does not produce significant market value. Dancing is fun, but extra; not essential for living a good life.

This notion is proven definitively false by performances like “Nadiya Ukraine.” To watch these movers, each of them far from a home that is no longer safe, exert themselves with maximum effort to make something that is beautiful, is to know that dance is essential. 

Like The White Feather, A Persian Ballet which I reviewed for BroadwayWorld.com earlier this year, this performance is “a protest, a memorial, and a celebration.” It was an honor to witness the hope embodied by The National Ballet of Ukraine and Shumka in Nadiya Ukraine.

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