The story of two teenage ballerinas coping with relocation, assimilation and health problems after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
“I get a call from my mom: “We’re being bombed!” Pack up your things, pack up your life, we’re leaving. And I’m in St Petersburg.”
Ballet has been a staple of European culture since the 15th century, playing a vital role in culture and entertainment to this day. Being a professional ballerina is certainly not easy, requiring years of physical and mental commitment to the craft.
While young girls in the UK traditionally play team sports like hockey, netball and tennis, in Eastern Europe, it’s commonplace to take up something like gymnastics, ballet or ballroom dancing instead.
Most don’t become professionals, but an introduction at such a young age allows those who do to become prime contenders for acclaimed roles by early adulthood. In return, they must commit their life to ballet, staying in shape and continuing to perfect and develop their skills.
Consistency is vital.
Any interruption to their daily training regimen has immediate and drastic effects on a ballerina’s ability to perform. The body loses muscle mass rapidly, becoming prone to injury as their skills are depleted. Subsequently, their livelihood depends on routine, effort, and discipline.
So, what happens when a war breaks out?
Alisa is a 20-year-old professional ballerina from Kyiv, Ukraine. She has committed her entire life to ballet since the age of four. Taking up ballet under mild coercion from her persistent grandmother, she says she didn’t fall in love with it immediately.
“I wanted to run around and play outside, not spend hours by the barre dragging my feet on the floor,” she told us.
However, after going to a summer camp when she was 12 and seeing senior, experienced ballerinas, she thought: “Wow, this really is impressive. Alright, I’ll give it a go.”
She transferred to the Kyiv State Ballet College to complete her education, but knew she wanted more. In Kyiv, she was taught the Vaganova Method, a globally renowned technique of ballet used across Eastern Europe.
Aiming high, Alisa applied to the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St Petersburg, one of the most renowned ballet academies in the world. And she got in.
Transferring over in 2020 – auditioning on video under the unusual circumstances of the Covid lockdowns – she continued her higher education there for the next couple of years.
In just six months, she was given the solo part of Clara in The Nutcracker, performed in the Mariinsky Theatre, a very high accolade at such a young age.
“I had laid out a path for myself. I was going to stay here, perform in the theatre – the trajectory was clear for me.” That was until 2022: “I get a call from my mom: ‘We’re being bombed!’ Pack up your things, pack up your life, we’re leaving. And I’m in St Petersburg.”
After saying farewell to her friends, teachers, and the life she had been building, she was escorted by “a friend of a friend of a friend” to the Russian border, which she crossed by foot into Latvia. From there, she took a ferry to Finland where she stayed with another distant acquaintance, while trying to figure out her future.
“Luckily, the director of the Princess Grace Academy in Monte Carlo took me into his troupe, and I was able to complete my final year-and-a-half of higher education with minimal interruption.” Then, it came time to apply for a job.
She auditioned in academies all over the world: America, Norway, Finland, Germany, and finally, the UK. After a number of successful auditions, she settled on the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
“I knew it was the one, because I loved the troupe, and Carlos Acosta, the director, is an absolute star! And well, it’s England! I was certain this was the place for me.”
Her infatuation with British ballet stems from its emphasis on a classic repertoire. She tells me that classics are slowly phasing out around the world, replaced by more contemporary choreography. But British ballet upholds more traditional techniques of dance.
I ask her about assimilation; had she found navigating UK customs difficult in any way?
“Honestly, because the dancers here are from all over the world, our troupe is very tight-knit and welcoming. We’re all in a similar position, far away from home. But being from Ukraine, to this day, my friends and teachers check on me constantly, asking how I’m feeling, if my family is safe, what the situation is currently like. And it always feels genuine, and for that, I am incredibly grateful.”
The only nuance she’s still grappling with is the extent to which the British are polite. Compared to the Vaganova Academy in Russia, with weekly public weigh-ins and ruthless criticism of every minor flaw, she finds that teachers here are measurably less strict.
In her opinion, they avoid pointing out potential improvements so as not to offend. “I’m a ballerina, it’s my job to be good. If I need to point my toes more or lift my leg higher, just tell me. I promise I can do it!”
When asked what her career aspirations are for the future, she says that dancing for the London Royal Ballet is her current dream, so being in Birmingham is bringing her a step closer to that dream every day.
“In ballet, when you have a contract, it’s for life. They can’t fire you. So spending time in a slightly smaller troupe, gaining experience, knowledge, and skill is essential to becoming a prime contender somewhere like London, which is globally renowned.”
I ask whether she wishes to go back to Ukraine. Where does she see her future? After a pause, she answers: “That’s a tough one. Obviously, for the time being, I’m committed to staying here. Getting into the London Royal Ballet is a dream of mine, and I’m determined to reach it. But if and when the war is over, I‘ll see. The current state of ballet in Ukraine is not as good as it could be.”
Since the full-scale invasion, the situation has become increasingly dire. Shows and training sessions are routinely brought to a halt by air raid sirens, significantly impeding progress.
Classics like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are no longer performed, as they were written by Tchaikovsky, a Russian, regardless of the fact that he had no relation to the war.
“Later down the line, if I get enough experience here, I would love to go back and try to make it better back home. Being a ballerina isn’t forever, after all.”
The impermanence of being a ballerina dawned on her last year, when she sustained a serious leg injury, bringing her rigorous training regimen to a screeching halt.
Within that period, she watched her skills deteriorate rapidly and even came close to quitting ballet altogether. Despite this, she persevered, working consistently to not lose her form, and went back to proper training as soon as she was able to.
Alongside ballet, she’s completing a Bachelor’s degree in psychology at a university in Kyiv, remotely. She feels it is essential that she has a backup plan, and one day hopes to study a Master’s degree in London.
On New Year’s Eve, I watched her perform The Nutcracker in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Despite not being fully recovered from her injury, Alisa’s form remained nothing short of exquisite. Her stamina and grace never faltered.
But not everyone has been quite so lucky.
Sofiia is a 20-year-old former ballerina who is also from Kyiv. In fact, she and Alisa attended the same ballet school in Kyiv for a short period of time.
Like everyone else, when the war broke out, Sofiia was forced to find a school elsewhere to complete her ballet education. In her case, she transferred over to the Balletschule Theatre in Basel, Switzerland.
Sofiia had committed her entire life to ballet up to that point. Aged 12, she transferred to homeschool education, attending dance lessons in the Kyiv State Ballet College, so she could dedicate as much time as possible to ballet, while still receiving an education in English, with the hope of moving abroad one day.
Before the war broke out, however, the cutthroat environment of ballet led Sofiia to develop a very unhealthy relationship with food and her body. The stress of the war caused her to gain weight, which affected her performance abilities significantly.
Knowing this, the transfer to a new school in Basel was even more of a challenge for her. Settling in wasn’t easy either. “It was very stressful; I joined in the middle of the year when everybody already knew each other, and I was new and behind.”
To make matters worse, less than a year after arriving in Basel, the school was shut down. More than 30 students came out with abuse allegations towards the directors, causing the training division that Sofiia was in to close.
Students recalled their time there being riddled with humiliation and abuse, while excessive pressure on performance resulted in broken bones and eating disorders.
Now, everything was up in the air again.
“At this point, I was too old to go to a new school and start again, but too young and degreeless to go into a theatre. On top of that, weight gain from the stress of the war had really affected my hormones and form, so I wasn’t in the best shape to audition at a new school. I had to quit.”
I asked what it was like to let go of something that had encapsulated her life completely up until that point. “There was a vacuum. Ballet is not just a profession. You live your life as a ballerina, and when you stop, you don’t know what to do with yourself.”
“I felt like I hadn’t quite found myself yet, but I was no longer part of a community. It felt like being ripped apart, like I’m not a part of anything anymore. Most people have friends, school, a job, hobbies. But having spent my entire life so committed to ballet, I just didn’t know what to do anymore.”
Her mother relocated to London when the war started, so she moved to join her. She got a full-time retail job, but London became too expensive very quickly, so she moved to Norwich with her partner at the time.
Compared to Switzerland, she describes settling in the UK as a significantly better experience. “The people here are friendly, and I’ve never felt like I’ll be left stranded with no help.”
“After my ex- and I split up, I stayed in Norwich. I had fallen in love with the place itself – it has so much character, so much beauty. It’s incredibly homely, welcoming and cozy, and the architecture here is absolutely breathtaking. It feels like living in a fairytale. Especially compared to London, where it often feels like you’re a hamster running inside a wheel, working 24/7 just to get by.”
Her mother has now returned to Ukraine, so Sofiia is now fully self-sufficient. She works two jobs to be able to afford rent, bills, and other expenses, and says that while Norwich isn’t quite as bad as London, the cost of living in the UK makes taking care of everything alone quite stressful.
“At first, I found another retail job in Norwich, but I wanted to reconnect with my ballet background, so I started working at the gym. The job quickly became my passion, and I decided to qualify as a personal trainer to widen my career options. I also create content about fitness and nutrition on the side to expand my customer base,” she said.
“I teach a lot of classes like Pilates and Barre, and my background in ballet helps massively. I’m still very flexible and incredibly in tune with my body, so I know exactly which muscles are working, a crucial skill during any workout.
“Having gone through issues with eating and body image, I wanted to use my experience to help others. In my approach, I always emphasise balance – in both sport and nutrition, I’m not working on building up strength through weightlifting, something I was lacking in ballet.”
I asked her if she wanted to stay here and where she sees herself in the future.
“Since I’ve been a kid, I’ve always wanted to live abroad. So, best-case scenario, I’d like to stay in the UK. One day I’d love to open up my own place, I just need time to get more knowledge, clients and experience,” Sofiia told me.
“Ballet will always be a part of me. I just have to remember that it’s not the only thing about me anymore. I’m continuing to grow and develop as a person, using the mental and physical things it taught me as help along the way. Despite becoming a ruthless self-critic, ballet makes you incredibly resilient, disciplined and hard working. Those qualities are useful anywhere in life.”
Despite similar beginnings and two drastically different outcomes, one thing is clear. The resilience and discipline nurtured in ballet clearly helped both Alisa and Sofiia navigate the hardships along their way, as they remained hardworking and committed in every environment they found themselves in.
Featured image credit courtesy of Alisa Garkavenko.