News - Ukrainian dancers face danger for performing Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake'

In a developing story from Ukraine, two prominent ballet dancers, Natalia Matsak and Sergey Krivokon, are reportedly on the brink of termination from the National Opera of Ukraine. The dancers face accusations of performing 'Swan Lake,' a classic ballet by the renowned Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, during their European tour. This controversy is based on reports from Ukrainian media, citing an official response from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture. According to Strana.ua, the ministry learned of the performance through social media channels and condemned the pair for propagating art linked to Russia, which Ukraine considers an 'aggressor' nation. This statement illustrates the ministry's ongoing efforts to distance Ukrainian arts from Russian influences, which includes removing Russian composers' pieces from current repertoires. Amid these tensions, the dancers' profiles were notably scrubbed from the National Opera's website, hinting at impending disciplinary measures. Matsak has previously voiced her disagreement with the cultural ban, asserting that excluding historically significant works inflicts significant loss on ballet as a whole. This recent development fits within a broader campaign initiated by Ukrainian authorities post-2014 Maidan revolution, an endeavor to shed Russian cultural presence. The crackdown intensified in 2022, leading to the renaming of the National Music Academy and removal of public monuments linked to Russian heritage. Furthermore, there is a push to purge Russian music from streaming platforms. Moscow has expressed strong opposition to these moves, criticizing what it sees as cultural discrimination contributing to existing geopolitical tensions. Russia's Foreign Ministry, through spokesperson Maria Zakharova, has denounced the policy measures as overstepping moral boundaries.