In my campus commentary, I will be talking about Kyiv City Ballet’s Tribute to Peace performance on September 18th at our very own Duke Family Performance Hall. The evening opened with part 1 of 3 unique performances throughout the night. Choreographed by Vladyslav Dobshynskyi, “Thoughts”, a somber yet captivating piece, delved into the human thoughts of the protagonist with the importance of understanding and reasoning with them. Dressed in neutral-toned, loose-fitting attire, the background dancers, with an antagonistic-like demeanor, attribute the main characters, a man and woman dressed in tighter-fitting white attire, to their thoughts without leniency. The man tries to capture, prevent, and flee his thoughts as he attempts to find the root of his complacency and get the woman to accept him as he is, leaving the audience with a notion of apprehensive hope. Following the intermission, the second act began with “Tribute to Peace”, (created notably for their US tour and choreographed by Ivan Kozlov and Ekaterina Kozlova), drawing the audience into the overlapping lives of people through a series of short scenes of what life without hardship and despondency would be like, danced and acted by the artists to Edward Elgar’s romantic classical pieces. Finally, in the closing act, “Men of Kyiv”, two groups of men, one in blue shirts and the other in yellow, competed with each other over traditional Ukrainian Folk Dance to exhibit their skills by doing fast-paced physical stunts including jumps and flips. Eventually, in the end, both groups set their differences aside to come together to honor their country through the art of dance, leaving the audience enraptured and performers with standing ovations.
Although all three parts of the performance varied with the mood they exhibited amongst the audience, the artist intended to display the impact that expression through dance makes on people. Additionally, it brought all religions, cultures, and races present in the room together to enjoy a moment of peace through taking in this production of art. Through how they expressed themselves with great humility while dancing, the group also aimed to transport the audience back to Ukraine, to their roots, and, in turn, gained their viewers' sympathies in the process.
Moreover, the group was successfully able to embody the many different tones and characters played through the three parts of the performance and do them so flawlessly. Every dancer was a part of their group, their family, both physically and metaphorically, with every body movement perfectly synchronized throughout the ensemble to match the other. It was both a team and individual effort, bound by their collective love and passion for ballet.
In conclusion, although I did dance and ballet for 4 years at a young age, my knowledge in the matter is still limited, but not enough to understand the amount of blood, sweat, tears, and devotion put into this performance. These dancers were not only sharing Ukrainian ballet with the world, but also intimately captivated the audience by entrusting us with their vulnerability in bringing their pain and emotions to the surface in the ways they moved. Through this outlet, they are proving to be unbreakable dancers in fighting for their country dancing from the stage, while still having an un-retrievable piece of their soul back at home. Each performance had everyone on the edges of their seats, longing for more and feeling each and every emotion in correspondence with that of the dancers. I was specifically touched by the first performance, “Thoughts”, through the dark, defining lighting and encompassing pathos throughout it. It reminded me of The Garden of Forking Paths in that every thought and decision we make, which turns into an action, has more of an effect in our lives than we think, creating new paths and worlds to explore throughout one's life. Above all, I feel most grateful and honored to have not only been so close to these talented humans, but to witness and feel let in with peace and open arms to their culture and people.
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