Posted on Mar 15, 2022
Schools across Europe give shelter and fresh opportunities to Ukraine's young dancers
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https://www.npr.org/2022/03/14/ [login to see] /schools-across-europe-give-shelter-and-fresh-opportunities-to-ukraines-young-dan
The Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) is a big deal in the dance world. Dancers audition for scholarships to attend prestigious schools. For ballet companies, it's a kind of pipeline as they look for the next generation of professional dancers. Competitions are held in cities around the world. When Russians invaded Ukraine, the Kiev competition was cancelled.
Now, YAGP organizers are busy trying to find schools that will take in the young Ukrainian dancers who were registered to compete. YAGP's Director of External Affairs Sergey Gordeev rattles off a long list of the schools that are helping, "Munich Ballet Academy, John Cranko Schule School of Stuttgart Ballet, Dutch National Ballet School, European School of Ballet in the Netherlands, Norwegian National Ballet School..."
So far, he says, they've placed more than 60 dancers since the invasion. "These dancers are literally finding themselves at the border, trying to cross into wherever there is peace and to continue their art, which means everything to them," he says.
17-year-old Martin Korol was scheduled to compete in the YAGP. Instead, he fled, with nothing but a backpack and a little money. Along with crowds of other people, he and a dancer friend headed to the Kiev train station. "It was so difficult to leave Kiev. So difficult," he says.
The Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) is a big deal in the dance world. Dancers audition for scholarships to attend prestigious schools. For ballet companies, it's a kind of pipeline as they look for the next generation of professional dancers. Competitions are held in cities around the world. When Russians invaded Ukraine, the Kiev competition was cancelled.
Now, YAGP organizers are busy trying to find schools that will take in the young Ukrainian dancers who were registered to compete. YAGP's Director of External Affairs Sergey Gordeev rattles off a long list of the schools that are helping, "Munich Ballet Academy, John Cranko Schule School of Stuttgart Ballet, Dutch National Ballet School, European School of Ballet in the Netherlands, Norwegian National Ballet School..."
So far, he says, they've placed more than 60 dancers since the invasion. "These dancers are literally finding themselves at the border, trying to cross into wherever there is peace and to continue their art, which means everything to them," he says.
17-year-old Martin Korol was scheduled to compete in the YAGP. Instead, he fled, with nothing but a backpack and a little money. Along with crowds of other people, he and a dancer friend headed to the Kiev train station. "It was so difficult to leave Kiev. So difficult," he says.
Schools across Europe give shelter and fresh opportunities to Ukraine's young dancers
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Dancing
Europe
Russia
Ukraine
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."While they were on a train to Odessa, Korol's ballet teacher called YAGP organizers to see if they could help them. Then Korol took a train to Lviv, intending to walk to the Polish border. As Gorgeev explains it, a driver of a bus headed to Berlin saw that Korol was a minor and offered him a ride. A YAGP representative let him know they'd found a spot for him at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. She told him to stay on the bus until he got to Berlin. Then he flew to Monaco.
The Youth America Grand Prix found 17-year-old dancer Martin Korol a spot at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco.
Martin Karol
YAGP and the Princess Grace Academy covered the cost of his journey. "It's fantastic, emotional. But inside my head is so... nightmare," Korol says, overwhelmed. "It's like another world to me. I've never been to Europe."
Korol is extremely worried about his parents and grandparents. His grandparents are in Kharkiv, a city that has been completely destroyed.
After our interview, he wrote in an email, "My parents very need money for eat, they won't be able to hold out for long, they're not paying their salaries."
Luca Masala, the Artistic Director of the Princess Grace Academy, says Korol is "not in panic, but you can see that he's very confused." He describes Korol as a tall, lyrical dancer who seems willing to work hard in class. Still, "To be artistic in such a dramatic moment, it's hard. It's hard at this age," says Masala.
The other students at the Monaco school have welcomed Korol. Masala says, "They made a little scholarship for him and, without me saying anything, they bought him some bathroom things, you know, things that he would need." The school is currently hosting three dancers from Ukraine with, "two more arriving next week."...
..."While they were on a train to Odessa, Korol's ballet teacher called YAGP organizers to see if they could help them. Then Korol took a train to Lviv, intending to walk to the Polish border. As Gorgeev explains it, a driver of a bus headed to Berlin saw that Korol was a minor and offered him a ride. A YAGP representative let him know they'd found a spot for him at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. She told him to stay on the bus until he got to Berlin. Then he flew to Monaco.
The Youth America Grand Prix found 17-year-old dancer Martin Korol a spot at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco.
Martin Karol
YAGP and the Princess Grace Academy covered the cost of his journey. "It's fantastic, emotional. But inside my head is so... nightmare," Korol says, overwhelmed. "It's like another world to me. I've never been to Europe."
Korol is extremely worried about his parents and grandparents. His grandparents are in Kharkiv, a city that has been completely destroyed.
After our interview, he wrote in an email, "My parents very need money for eat, they won't be able to hold out for long, they're not paying their salaries."
Luca Masala, the Artistic Director of the Princess Grace Academy, says Korol is "not in panic, but you can see that he's very confused." He describes Korol as a tall, lyrical dancer who seems willing to work hard in class. Still, "To be artistic in such a dramatic moment, it's hard. It's hard at this age," says Masala.
The other students at the Monaco school have welcomed Korol. Masala says, "They made a little scholarship for him and, without me saying anything, they bought him some bathroom things, you know, things that he would need." The school is currently hosting three dancers from Ukraine with, "two more arriving next week."...
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