Ukrainian activists in Montgomery County, Maryland, are sounding the alarm about a tour by a ballet company claiming to be the "State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine" and promoting Russian culture. In fact, the company is based in Brooklyn, New York, and is organized by Russian producers with no connection to official Ukrainian cultural institutions.
This was reported to the publication by Maryna Lvovska and Olga Onishchenko.
"We are Ukrainian activists living in Montgomery County, Maryland. We actively support Ukraine and protest against Russian cultural events in Washington, D.C. that are connected to or sponsored by the Russian Federation," said Maryna Lvovska.
According to her, they came across touring performances by the State Ballet Theater of Ukraine, which actively promotes the works of Russian artists, causing outrage in the Ukrainian community while Russia is waging war against Ukraine. The activists contacted the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States for clarification, but it turned out that such a Ukrainian organization does not exist.
"We contacted the Embassy of Ukraine and they confirmed that this organization has no ties to Ukrainian cultural institutions and has not received any official state support. In addition, the embassy stresses that there is a temporary cultural boycott of Russian works. Therefore, any legitimate Ukrainian company will refrain from performing or touring with a Russian program," the embassy said.
As it turned out, the official organizer of the performances is Classical Art Entertainment, which, after a series of scandals, changed the description of the troupe, adding that it is "not a state cultural organization of Ukraine". However, the advertisement continues to mislead viewers.
"It is clear that this company is acting as a fraud, using the Ukrainian tragedy for personal gain. The performance of the so-called 'State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine' at the Strathmore Theatre (Bethesda, Maryland) on January 18 and their advertisement confirm this fact," Ukrainian activists say.
They add that journalists from the well-known The Pointe magazine are also spreading disinformation about this ballet with the participation of dancers from the Dnipro Academic Opera and Ballet Theater from Dnipro (Ukraine), supporting the fake Ukrainian image of the organization. Currently, this publication is no longer available on the website, but VM journalists managed to find this article on the archive pages of web.archive.
In turn, the Dnipro Opera issued an official statement, denying any connection with this company, calling the participation of the theater's employees in tours of the United States and Canada with a Russian program "false rumors".
"The name 'State Ballet Theater of Ukraine' has nothing to do with our theater and is used by outsiders on their own initiative. No permissions or approvals have been given by the theater's administration to use the name of our theater and/or to involve the theater's artists in the tours described in the publications," the statement reads.
Currently, the Ukrainian community is preparing a protest against impostors who profit from the war and promote Russian culture under the Ukrainian brand (details here: Protest against Impostor Theater).
Author: Danylo Pievchev