On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Two ballet dancers, Stanislav Olshanskyi and Alexis Tuttunique, at the time on tour with Dutch prima ballerina Igone de Jongh, were caught off guard by the war and, with the help of Igone and Matthijs Bongertman (Senf Theaterpartners), sought refuge in dance city of The Hague.
They called on other dance professionals from Ukraine to join them. Over 60 professionals from different companies have since found each other in The Hague. Together, they formed a new company: The United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation (UUBF) and in recent months, they have worked with leading choreographers such as Jiří Kylián and Alexei Ratmansky on various productions.
The Ukrainian International Ballet is a foundation created on the basis of the United Ukrainian Ballet Foundation after its closure in March 2024. The UUB was created by Matthijs Bongertman, Igone de Jong, Rinus Sprong, Robert Serry, Bart Meuter, Bessel Kok, and many other honoured and noble people.
Based on UUBF’s values, the Ukrainian International Ballet is meant to keep supporting Ukrainian refugee ballet dancers, giving them an opportunity to showcase their talent within newly created international dance projects.
Ballet “Giselle” was realized within UUB by Alexei Ratmansky as a support to Ukrainian refugee ballet dancers, who left their homes because of the russian military invasion, and found a shelter in the Hague, Netherlands. The premiere of “Giselle” was showcased in the Netherlands, and afterwards toured to Great Britain and USA during 2022-23.
This project consisted of three independent pieces by legendary contemporary choreographers, such as “Fallen Angels” by Jiří Kylián, “Step Lightly” by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, and “Wartime Elegy” by Alexey Ratmansky. A number of “Dancing in Defiance” performances were held during the Dutch spring tour in 2023.
Several pieces from the UUB’s repertoire became the major part of the charity Gala “Ukrainsk Aften”, which was held in May 2023. This event was supported by Olena Zelenska Foundation, conducted by Ukrainian Presidential Orchestra, and kindly visited by the Queen of Denmark. Organized by Philip Maury with the support of Paul Lightfoot and the Embassy of Ukraine.
The Classical ballet Gala of the United Ukrainian Ballet was proudly performed in Taipei in Spring 2023. In a row with the Pas-de-deux from the famous ballets, Alexei Ratmansky’s “Wartime Elegy” was also showcased and received the warmest support from the audience.
The UUB was invited to present its dance program within the annual Dutch national open-air art festival, called De Parade, held in the Hague. A simple but deeply touching contemporary dance program was choreographed by Vladyslav Detiuchenko.
The artistic director of UUB and Dutch Prima ballerina Igone de Jong involved dancers in her well-known production, Gala “Igone in Carre,” which was held in the famous theater Carre in Amsterdam in spring 2023. Various talented choreographers were involved, such as Sasha Riva and Simone Repele (Italy), Marijn Rademaker (the Netherlands), Vladyslav Detiuchenko (Ukraine), and Edward Clug (Slovenia). The creative synergy of UUB dancers, choreographers, and incredible ballerina Igone de Jong forced the audience to give standing ovations after each show.
The row of 16 performances was shown during UUB’s Netherlands tour in December 2023–January 2024. Gala in two acts amazed the audiences in Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and other Dutch cities. The variety of the program was achieved through the synergies of classical ballet and contemporary pieces, world known choreographers with experienced Dutch and young Ukrainian creators. The public witnessed an anthology of the traditional ballets “La Paquita” and “Don Quixote,” as well as the Ukrainian ballet “The Forest Song,” followed by contemporary pieces by Thom Stuart (the Netherlands), Vladyslav Detiuchenko, and Dmytro Borodai (Ukraine). As a cherry on top, to finalize the cheerful Gala, the Hopak, a Ukrainian virtuous folk dance, was rocking both the stage and the audience.
Large documentary about refugee ballet dancers of UUB and a front-line soldier Oleksandr “Teren” Budko, who lost both his legs in a battle on the Ukrainian border with Russia. This film was directed by Miriam Guttmann, with Sarah Jessica Parker as an Exclusive Producer.
Short documentary about daily life of the Ukrainian refugee ballet dancers, filmed in the old Royal Conservatory of the Hague, where dancers found their first shelter in the Netherlands. The film was produced by Interact & NTR (the Netherlands), directed by Ditteke Mensink, and presented on Dutch television in November 2022.
Jan Pietersz. Coenstraat 7
2595WP ‘s-Gravenhage
The Netherlands
