INdependent 24

Ukrainian International Ballet (UIB) emerged from the Ukrainian community in The Hague. The company is building an artistic future while people in Ukraine continue to fight for freedom every day. UIB’s mission is to preserve and share the rich heritage of Ukrainian ballet, while also creating a creative home for new stories, experimentation and contemporary dance. Rooted in Ukrainian culture, the company shapes a new present based on humanity, inclusivity and dialogue. In INdependent 24, Ukrainian International Ballet presents two works: Emotions by choreographer and dancer Dmytro Borodai and de/het/één by choreographer Richèl Wieles. Together they form a double bill that does not turn away from pain and disruption, but searches for connection, beauty and the strength to keep going.

Emotions: a story of loss, strength and resilience
Emotions centres on the story of Andrii Siromakha, a Ukrainian veteran who lost his arm and leg in an explosion. Set to powerful music, the work takes the audience through his experiences and emotions. What makes this piece especially remarkable is that Siromakha himself takes part in the choreography. This gives him the space to express his feelings and share his story directly with the audience. Night after night, he inspires, or as he says himself: “Let’s be unstoppable.”

de/het/één: Ukrainian dancers look at the Netherlands
The second work, de/het/één, by Richèl Wieles, takes the audience into the experiences of Ukrainian dancers who fled to the Netherlands. Based on the real stories of ten dancers, the ballet reflects their view of contemporary Dutch life: warm, humorous and experimental, from everyday impressions to deeply personal memories. New Ukrainian music was composed for this more classical work by Yurii Shepeta, and audio fragments from interviews are heard throughout. The result is personal, disarming and deeply moving.

INdependent 24 calls on both heart and mind to choose humanity as the foundation for living together. A performance in which dance not only reveals beauty, but also bears witness to resilience, compassion and the need to be heard.