The United Ballet of Ukraine debuted at Taipei’s National Theater Friday evening, performing the classic ballet "Giselle." It’s a story about a peasant girl’s doomed love affair with a prince. Just before the performance, the dancers told reporters that despite the ongoing war in their home country, they had remained committed to rehearsing for the performance. They said they hoped to honor Ukraine’s army through dance.

The United Ballet of Ukraine performs “Giselle,” a classic Romantic ballet. Before its debut at Taipei’s National Theater, the company had rehearsed intensely in Ukraine. Undeterred by the ongoing war, the dancers remained committed to their art.

Arsen Marusenko
Dancer, United Ballet of Ukraine
There was a lot of noise as we had daytime rehearsals at the theater, and there would be daily air raid sirens. Recently, the Russians began another massive attack on us. That’s the reason some of our rehearsals were disrupted. We would go to air raid shelters and wait until we got the all clear. We were praying they would not get to Lviv. They flew in several times, but thanks to our armed forces, we were able to get through it safely. We were really lucky. That’s the reason why we were able to rehearse. During this time, the war did affect our rehearsals.

Maia Makhateli
Dancer, United Ballet of Ukraine
I think it’s a wonderful experience to support the dancers in this situation because I think it’s very important to keep doing what you love because I think love will save us in the end.

Despite sudden air raid warnings and strict curfews, the troupe danced on, against the odds. Through ballet, the dancers want to pay tribute to the Ukrainian military and pray for their compatriots back home.

Paul Godrey
Producer
A story of love, betrayal and death, so it’s very resonant to the circumstances in Ukraine at the moment. It may be a ballet about a German village in a French-style production, but it still has a lot of universal meaning to it, so it’s particularly appropriate at this time for Ukraine. So that is the performance we have chosen to bring.

The plot of “Giselle” revolves around a doomed love affair that moves from love, betrayal, and death to redemption. The performance expresses complex emotions and conveys determination to overcome death with love. This echoes the current situation in Ukraine, and producer Paul Godfrey hopes this love can also be conveyed to audiences in Taiwan.

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