Children of refugees from Ukraine are dancing at the Hamburg Ballet School, and professional dancers from this country who are in evacuation are involved in a grand performance. The head of the Hamburg Ballet, world-famous dancer and choreographer John Neumeier, is doing everything he can to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine dragged into the war and help his fellow Ukrainians.

New home for children of Ukrainian refugees

The teacher of the famous Hamburg Ballet School of Ballet, a native of Ukraine, Konstantin Tselikov, whom everyone here simply calls Kostya, carefully observes his young students and occasionally interrupts the class to explain what the mistakes are and show them how to do it. this or that exercise correctly.

About a month ago, the group of his students was replenished by guys who, along with their parents, came to Hamburg, fleeing the war in Ukraine. The ballet school founded by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet has already taken in a total of ten Ukrainian children aged between six and fourteen. The issue of accepting more girls and boys from Ukraine is being considered.

“We thought, what can we do to help?” – recalls Gigi Hyatt, head of pedagogical programs and deputy director of the Hamburg Ballet School, speaking in an interview with the dpa agency about how the idea of ​​teaching ballet to children of Ukrainian refugees was born.

Director of Educational Programs and Deputy Director of the Gigi Hyatt Hamburg Ballet School

According to Hyatt, the decision to admit the guys who danced in his homeland of Ukraine to the Hamburg Ballet School was taken without delay. The Hamburg association “Amigos do Ballet” assumed the financial support of the project. It was possible to get in touch with Ukrainian families who fled the war to Germany thanks to the personal connections of the dancers of the Hamburg Ballet: the fact is that some of them, including the first soloist Alexander Ryabko, are themselves from Ukraine.

According to Gigi Hyatt, the language barrier is easily overcome in the classroom. “The great thing about ballet is that choreographic rooms all over the world look the same, and in ballet disciplines, French vocabulary and terminology are traditionally used everywhere. So the kids immediately felt at ease.” she says.

At least for a while forget about the war

Some of the Ukrainian children admitted to the Hamburg Ballet School live in a boarding school established under it. One of them is 13-year-old Masha from Kyiv. She has no relatives in Hamburg: the girl’s parents and brother did not want to stay in Germany and went to Spain. “Only here is such a good ballet school. That’s why I really wanted to stay in Hamburg”, explains her decision not to leave the Hanseatic city, a girl who has been practicing ballet for ten years and dreams of one day dancing in a real troupe of ballet.

Christina, 14, from Kiev, also lives at a boarding school. She came to Hamburg with her mother, her father stayed in Kyiv. Khristina and Masha try to stay with each other: it’s easier to adapt to a new environment together than alone. However, the Hamburg Ballet School has 146 students from 33 countries, so making friends here is no problem.

The students of the Hamburg Ballet School are now in full swing: they are in full swing rehearsing before the large-scale show “First Steps”, which will be shown on April 30th and June 20th at the Hamburg Opera, where performances of The Hamburg Ballet usually takes place. Under the guidance of Konstantin Tselikov, the children are preparing for the performance with force and strength, including rehearsing the performance of the famous waltz “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss. Little Pavlo also participates in rehearsals and proudly shows what he already knows how to do. “Come on, show me how good you are!” – the teacher motivates his ward. You can see from the happy faces of the little dancers that they forgot about the war for a while…

Welcome to Ukrainian dancers

The Hamburg Ballet also helps professional dancers from Ukraine. Together with the Kampnagel cultural center, he launched a project in which Kyiv dancers who fled the war to other countries were invited to work in Hamburg. With the support of the Hamburg Ballet, they are creating a long-term performance program.

The first soloist of the Hamburg Ballet Alexander Ryabko is from Ukraine

The Kampnagel Cultural Center provided the ensemble, which until now consisted of seven dancers, a theater stage, as well as technical and organizational assistance for the production of a ballet show called “For The Air That We Breathe” (“For the sake of the air that we breathe”). With the support of the Hamburg State Opera Assistance Fund, it opens at the Kampnagel Theater on 29 and 30 April. For a longer stay of the invited Ukrainian dancers in Hamburg, it is planned to provide scholarships.