Young Ukrainian Dancers Trapped Abroad

The Kyiv City Ballet danced to a full theater in Paris for the company's last show of its French tour. The tour has left the dancers without a place to go after the war started in Ukraine.

In other times, performing at the Théatre du Chatelet would be a dream come true for the dancers. But with the ongoing¹ war in their country, the dancers feel only a deep sadness.

"We are both physically² and emotionally³ exhausted⁴," Ekaterina Kozlova told The Associated Press. She is the company's assistant director. "Everyone in the ballet is worried about their families, loved ones, friends, colleagues at home. It's been very difficult."

The Théatre du Chatelet, in the center of Paris, offered them the stage on Tuesday for the group's final show of a French tour.

The dance director of the Paris Opera and some members of her company joined the Ukrainians for a class before performing several ballet classics⁵ together. They danced parts of Russian composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

For many of the dancers, the chance to train and dance was a way to think about "something other than the conflict in Ukraine," Kozlova said.

One of the dancers will be going to the Ukrainian border in the coming days to pick up her young daughter who was taken out of the country.

Only some members of the company were traveling around France. Many of the ballet's best dancers stayed behind, waiting to join their friends after they reached Paris.

"Most of our artists are stuck in Ukraine," Director Ivan Kozlov told the Paris crowd.

The city of Paris and the ballet community have helped find temporary housing⁶ for the Ukrainian dancers who say they hope to continue dancing in France and elsewhere⁷. The Chatelet theater offered the whole group a residency. But for now, Tuesday's last-minute performance was their last.

All sales from their performances will go to nongovernmental organizations collecting and sending humanitarian⁸ aid to Ukraine and neighboring countries.

Ukrainian dancers have also looked to other countries for safe places to stay. The Romanian National Opera offered six ballet dancers fleeing the war in Ukraine a chance to work with their ballet company. Some of them could be performing next month.

Words in This Story

ballet — n. a kind of dancing that is performed on a stage and that uses dance, music, costumes, and scenery to tell a story

tour — n. a journey through the different parts of a country, region⁹, etc.

strand— v. to leave in a place without a way of leaving it

exhausted — v. to use all of someone's mental or physical energy

colleague — n. a fellow worker

stage — n. a raised platform in a theater, auditorium¹⁰, etc., where the performers stand

stuck — adj. difficult or impossible to move from a position

residency — n. a period of time when a writer, artist, etc., lives and works at a college or other institution

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 classics   

n.文豪( classic的名词复数 )；文学名著；优秀的典范；古希腊与古罗马的文化研究（尤指对其语言与文学的研究）

参考例句：

• There are three great constituents of modern education --the classics, modern history and literature, and science. 现代教育有三大内容 -古典文学、现代历史和文学、以及自然科学。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "The Classics on Tea", written by Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty (618 A.D.-907 A.D.) was the world's earliest treatise on tea leave production. 中国唐代陆羽写的《茶经》是世界上最早的茶叶制作专著。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

7 elsewhere   

adv.在别处，到别处

参考例句：

• Our favourite restaurant was full so we had to go elsewhere.我们最喜欢去的那家饭店客满了，因此不得不改去别处。
• I have half a mind to move elsewhere.我有点想搬到别处去。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

10 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。