ARLINGTON—Ukrainian-based ballet company Grand Kyiv Ballet is returning to Snohomish County on Friday, October 11, with their groundbreaking performance of Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote, based on Miguel Cervantes’ classic 1605 novel of the same name.
The ballet will be held at Arlington’s Byrnes Performing Arts Center at 7:00 p.m., marking the ballet company’s second Snohomish County appearance following its performance at the Edmonds Performing Arts Center on September 21.
Don Quixiote is a ballet in three acts first performed by the Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet in 1869 with music written by Ludwig Minkus and choreography by Marius Petipa. Based on select chapters from Cervantes’ eponymous tale about a low nobility man who reads so many chivalric romances he begins to believe himself to be a knight errant, Minkus’ adaptation is an “enchanting performance filled with a fiery Spanish temperament paired with spectacular and technically difficult dance moves”, the ballet company says.
The Grand Kyiv Ballet’s performance revolves around the love story of the flirtatious Kitrig and the poor barber Basil, both prevented from being together by the bride’s father, who plans to force his daughter to marry a more wealthy groom; Enter Don Quixote who attempts to assist the lovers receive Kitrig’s father’s blessing.
Headlining the cast of the Grand Kyiv Ballet’s production is Viktor Tomashek (playing the role of Basil) and Anastasia Hurska (playing the role of Kitrig).
The decision to perform Don Quixote, which is jovial in nature and positive in theme, was directly influenced by the current war between Ukraine and Russia, Grand Kyiv Ballet Founder and Artistic Director Oleksandr Stoianov informed the Lynnwood Times.
“Don Quixote is a very positive ballet, it’s very bright, has very nice costumes and very good music with a lot of technical movement,” said Stoianov. “I think art is about positivity and healing for people, it’s about joy. It’s not about depression or politics. That’s why I like to show beautiful productions…Most people know about the conflict in our country and the destruction of our cities but people must know about Ukraine from its art and cultural side. We have really beautiful and strong art.”
Stoianov, originally from the Crimea peninsula in Ukraine, relocated to Seattle after Russia invaded his home country in the winter of 2022 when he lost his home to the war. He founded the Grand Kyiv Ballet company in 2014 because most ballet dancers working in the country at the time worked for Russian Ballet companies, he said, and he wanted to showcase exclusively Ukrainian talent.
Stoianov has been dancing since the age of eight, beginning his career as a ballroom dancer. He made the swap to ballet after an esteemed ballet instructor saw one of his performances and convinced him to give it a try. Now, at the age of 36, 26 years of ballet dancing later, Stoianov strictly focuses on the business side of things as he informed the Lynnwood Times his age is no longer conducive to the technical maneuvers seen in his performances.
Before relocating to the Seattle area the Grand Kyiv Ballet has performed all over the world with countries including France, China, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Chile, and many others. They have even performed for a list of royal families, politicians, and public figures.
What started as a group of about 25 ballet dancers, his company has now grown to approximately 60 dancers, spread between two teams (which is how the company can have two performance on the same night in two different locations).
Dancers in the Grand Kyiv Ballet now represent a diverse pool of different nationalities from Poland; to Spain; to the U.S.; to Italy and Iceland. Leading up to the opening performance of Don Quixote Stoianov informed the Lynnwood Times his dancers rehearsed for 10 hours a day for several months.
Tickets to the Grand Kyiv Ballet’s performance of Don Quixote start at $49 and can be purchased by clicking the link here.
Stoianov said that 20% of all ticket sales will be sent back to Ukraine to support art culture in his home country.
“Art is about finding strength and joy and bringing it to the audience even at times of dark terror, war and destruction. Resilience, strength and invincible spirit is what drives dancers to perform. They are not willing to let Russian aggression destroy their creativity and spirit and take away their lives,” said Stoianov. “Art is not about politics, it is about people who refuses to give up and their unbreakable spirit, finding hope in the darkest moments”
