Leading Russian ballerina Olga Smirnova has quit the famed Bolshoi ballet company in Moscow after denouncing the war in Ukraine and is moving to the Netherlands join the Dutch National Ballet.
The 30-year-old said last week that she was “against this war with every fibre of my soul”.
The director of the Dutch National Ballet said it was pleased to welcome “such an inspiring dancer”.
“It is a privilege to have her dance with our company in the Netherlands – even if the circumstances that drove this move are incredibly sad,” said company director Ted Brandsen.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Dutch National Ballet said that Ms Smirnova’s recent denouncement of the ongoing war made it “untenable for her to work in her native country”.
“What’s more, Russia’s ties with the artistic community – which are so essential to the ballet world – have been substantially cut due to the conflict in Ukraine,” it added.
Ms Smirnova had earlier this month criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I have to be honest and say that I am against war with all the fibers of my soul,” she said.
“It is not only about every other Russian perhaps having relatives or friends living in Ukraine, or about my grandfather being Ukrainian and me being quarter Ukrainian. It is that we continue to live as if this were the 20th century, even though we have formally moved to the 21st century.”
She wrote that she expects civilised societies to resolve political matters only through peaceful negotiations. “I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia, I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our cultural and athletic achievements,” she had added.
Her statement further said: “But now I feel that a line has been drawn that separates the before and the after. It hurts that people are dying, that people are losing the roofs over their heads or are forced to abandon their homes.”
“And who would have thought a few weeks ago that all of this would happen? We may not be at the epicentre of the military conflict, but we cannot remain indifferent to this global catastrophe.”
Ms Smirnova will perform her first title in ballet classic Raymonda on 3 April, the Dutch Ballet Group announced.
Two other Bolshoi members, Brazilian soloist David Motta Soares and Italian principal dancer Jacopo Tissi, have also announced their resignations following the Russian invasion.
“I am shocked by this situation that has come upon us from one day to the next, and quite honestly, I find myself unable to continue with my career in Moscow,” Mr Tissi wrote in a post on Instagram.
“No war can be justified. Ever. And I will always be against every kind of violence.”
The Bolshoi theatre’s music director, Tugan Sokhlev, also quit the company after offering a lengthy statement condemning “conflicts in any shape and form”.
Found in 1776, the Bolshoi Ballet is one of the oldest and internationally renowned classical ballet companies based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its fourth week. The United Nations has recorded at least 691 civilian deaths, although it says that real number is likely to be far higher.
While attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns continued on Thursday morning, Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress on a 15-point peace plan that would mean Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts limits to its armed forces, according to reports.
The progress came as Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov told the EU they should recognise Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, citing a Russian airstrike on a theatre in Mariupol that had the word “children” written on the pavement outside the building.
The Russian bombardment tore through a theatre sheltering thousands of civilians in Mariupol, leaving many buried under burning rubble. The official death toll and injuries from the bombing have not been released yet.
According to the latest British intelligence update, meanwhile, the invasion has largely been stalled on all fronts and is suffering heavy losses. Russian troops have made minimal progress in recent days on land, sea and air, the update said.
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