Alexei Ratmansky returns to Kyiv to stage Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations
The National Opera of Ukraine opens its 159th season with a milestone that resonates far beyond its stage: Alexei Ratmansky has returned to Kyiv to stage George Balanchine‘s Donizetti Variations, marking the first certified Balanchine production ever mounted by a Ukrainian ballet company.
There are only two performances: tonight, 10 September and tomorrow. However, for Ukraine’s principal theatre, the event is historic. For Ratmansky, it is personal.
A Homecoming with Weight
Ratmansky, born in Leningrad and raised in Kyiv, began his professional life in the very theatre where he now rehearses Balanchine’s one‑act ballet.
On 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, Ratmansky, then in Moscow working on two productions, shut them down immediately and left the country. Since then he has been one of the most outspoken cultural voices condemning the war, refusing to allow his works to be performed in Russia and urging the international arts community to recognise the moral dimension of the conflict.
His choreography has increasingly reflected this stance. Works such as Wartime Elegy (2022), Solitude (2024–26), and his choreography to Mykola Lysenko’s waltz Rozluka for the Vienna Opera Ball have woven Ukrainian themes, grief, and resilience into his artistic language. He has also supported displaced Ukrainian dancers through the United Ukrainian Ballet and co‑founded the Ballet Shoes for Ukraine initiative, delivering thousands of pairs of pointe shoes and slippers to schools and theatres across the country.
Balanchine in Kyiv: A First
Donizetti Variations, Balanchine’s virtuosic, plotless ballet set to music from Donizetti’s Dom Sébastien, is a jewel of neoclassicism: brisk, bright, and demanding. Although Balanchine’s works are danced worldwide, they have never before been licensed to a Ukrainian company. Since the invasion, they have also ceased to be licensed to Russian theatres.
Ratmansky’s staging therefore carries symbolic weight: a Ukrainian choreographer of international stature bringing Balanchine’s legacy to Kyiv at a moment when cultural identity, artistic continuity, and democratic values are under threat.
“If Ukraine does not win,” Ratmansky has said, “it will be the collapse of the idea of democracy and justice.”
His return to the National Opera is also a gesture of artistic faith. He speaks often of Ukraine’s dancers – their talent, their history, and the need for a repertoire that includes Balanchine alongside classical and contemporary works. Donizetti Variations, he insists, should be only the beginning.
Wartime Art, Wartime Stage
The National Opera’s dancers have already been performing Ratmansky’s wartime works abroad, including Wartime Elegy at New York’s Fall for Dance festival in 2025. Rehearsals for the Ukrainian version began in Amsterdam with eight of the company’s leading soloists, and the Kyiv premiere in June 2024 became a defining moment for the company.
Now, with Donizetti Variations, the company steps into a new chapter – one that connects Ukrainian ballet to the broader lineage of 20th‑century choreography while reaffirming its place on the international stage.
A Return with Purpose
Ratmansky’s presence in Kyiv is more than a homecoming. It is a statement of continuity: the theatre where he began is now the theatre where he contributes to rebuilding, renewing, and reimagining Ukrainian ballet.
“I started here,” he says, “and I want Ukrainian ballet not only to survive, but to stand alongside the leading companies of the world.”
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.
