Stepping Out of the Line: Ukrainian Ballet in Search of a Contemporary Identity

This article explores the emancipation of contemporary Ukrainian ballet as an act of cultural resistance in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion and longer histories of imperial domination. Through close observations of two expatriate companies in the Netherlands – the United Ukrainian Ballet (UUB) and the Ukrainian International Ballet (UIB) – we document how contemporary Ukrainian ballet is ‘stepping out of the line’ of Imperial Russian and Soviet traditions in search of a new identity. We argue that this emancipation manifests through a dual process: first, disengagement from the deeply internalized conventions of the classic Vaganova ballet training school and its associated aesthetics and philosophies; second, the development of new aesthetic values in ballet music and choreographies, moving decisively away from dominant Russian traditions. Given the scarcity of substantial Ukrainian traditions in classical ballet, this suggests an opening up towards international dance practices.