Svetlana Zakharova performances in South Korea are cancelled

The Korea Herald reports that Svetlana Zakharova’s planned performances in Seoul have been cancelled.

Yesterday, the producers, InArts Production, said,

We have been planning and preparing for a long time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, considering various situations. However, recently, we have decided to cancel the event due to concerns about the safety of both artists and audiences, as well as at the request of the Seoul Arts Centre.

The Ukrainian Embassy in South Korea had lodged a complaint about her appearances in Seoul on March 5 because of her past association with President Putin. Wikipedia states: “A member of United Russia party, Zakharova was a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation during the Russo-Ukrainian War…”

Zakharova was due to dance in Modanse, a double bill featuring Mauro Bigonzetti‘s Come un respiro and Yuri Possokhov’s Gabrielle Chanel from 17-21 April, a programme first seen at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2019.

The decision sheds doubt on other upcoming performances in Korea featuring Russian dancers including the Bolshoi Ballet Gala Concert 2024 at the Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts (16-18 April) and Ballet Supreme on 16 and 19 May with dancers from six theatres, including the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Ballet companies.

Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky pointed out in an Instagram post that Zakharova, Sergei Polunin and Nikolai Tsiskaridze were the only dance-related names in Vladimir Putin’s list of 346 ‘authorised representatives’ for the presidential elections. Ratmansky says,

When Zakharova’s upcoming April Gala in Seul is cancelled, it is important to understand that it’s not a cancellation of Russian culture – Russian music and ballets continue to be performed in Korea as well as in other places – but it’s a cancellation of Putin’s ardent collaborator and activist who happens to be a ballerina and who uses her fame as a ballerina to promote Putin’s agenda.

He adds,

I also find it extraordinary that all three of these proxy dancers are not originally from Russia – they come from the countries that were/are occupied and attacked by Putin with particular cruelty: Zakharova and Polunin were born and raised in Ukraine, and Tsiskaridze, in Georgia.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.