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The National Ballet of Ukraine is on a major tour of the U.S., along with Shumka, a Ukrainian folk dance troupe. The tour began this month at the Kennedy Center in Washington. As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, the company wants to show that Ukraine's culture lives, despite ongoing Russian attacks.
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ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: For the U.S. tour, the National Ballet of Ukraine is using massive screens that use 3-D technology. A piece called "Prayer For The Fallen" is set to Mozart's "Lacrimosa." The dancers are surrounded by scenes of war in Ukraine - bombed-out buildings, smoldering streets. They try to run away. They fall to the ground and huddle together as explosions go off in the background.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART'S "LACRIMOSA")
BLAIR: For audience member Venetta Veres, it was an emotional moment - her grandparents were born in Ukraine.
VENETTA VERES: It has to remind people that this is still going on and that they have endured and that they will endure and that we still have to keep fighting for freedom at any cost.
BLAIR: According to organizers, a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go towards building bomb shelters at Ukrainian schools. Tetyana Lozova is a principal soloist with the National Ballet of Ukraine. She says she has a responsibility to represent her country right now, but she says it's hard to be away from her 9-year-old daughter.
TETYANA LOZOVA: (Through interpreter) Here, we worry about our children and relatives more than if we were there. I feel safer when I can hold my daughter if there's a missile attack. I know that I am with her. And you know it's so terrifying.
BLAIR: The National Ballet of Ukraine has continued to perform in Kyiv but to a reduced audience of 400 - because that's about the capacity of the theater's bomb shelter. Artists are among those fighting in the war. Two years ago, prominent dancer Oleksandr Shapoval was killed fighting in the Donetsk region.
Lozova's husband is principal soloist Yaroslav Tkachuk. He says knowing the conditions Ukrainian soldiers are facing strengthens the company's resolve.
YAROSLAV TKACHUK: (Through interpreter) I think of our soldiers who are now on the front lines, living on the ground and underground in the cold, defending our country. Then I think, compared to them, our problems are a bit smaller. And this inspires us to preserve our culture, the same way as they're preserving us.
BLAIR: On the U.S. tour, Tkachuk and Lozova perform a duet from "Forest Song," a ballet rooted in Ukrainian culture. It's a mythical story about falling in love in the forest. The images behind the dancers show the changing of the seasons, from lush green to white snow.
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LOZOVA: (Through interpreter) This is a story of love - a story of pure love, unbelievable nature and beauty.
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BLAIR: Audience member Suellen Solodar was in awe of the dancers.
SUELLEN SOLODAR: They're so hardworking and so deserving of all our help. I just think they're brilliant.
BLAIR: The National Ballet of Ukraine is touring the East Coast through the end of October.
Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MYKHAILO SKORULSKYI'S "FOREST SONG") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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