Ukraine’s Grand Kyiv Ballet to perform ‘Giselle’ in Dallas

As if the classical ballets they perform aren’t sensational enough, married Ukrainian dancers Kateryna Kukhar and Oleksandr Stoianov found themselves thrust into a real-life drama when Russia invaded their country in 2022. Principal dancers with the Grand Kyiv Ballet, which Stoianov founded, both were out of the country teaching and performing at the time. Their two children, meanwhile, were trapped back home.

The couple managed to get them out and the family relocated at least temporarily to Seattle, where they had a relationship with the International Ballet Academy and its artistic director, Vera Altunina. An immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Altunina has been booking them as guest artists for a decade.

Against all odds, the Grand Kyiv Ballet, now based in Bellevue, Wash., has been touring the U.S. since the fall. The company’s production of Giselle, starring Kukhar and Stoianov, is scheduled to be performed March 21 at Winspear Opera House.

Details: Tickets at attpac.org/event/giselle.