bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agencies

Two star dancers have announced they are quitting the Bolshoi Ballet, as Russia’s best-known cultural institution becomes swept up in the international backlash against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
On March 7, Italian Jacopo Tissi said he was leaving his role as a principal dancer with the Moscow-based dance troupe in protest.
“I am shocked by this situation that has come upon us from one day to the next, and quite honestly, I find myself unable to continue with my career in Moscow,” Tissi wrote in a post published on Instagram.
“No war can be justified. Ever. And I will always be against every kind of violence,” he added.




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Jacopo Tissi 🇮🇹 (@jacopotissi)



The 27-year-old was only promoted to the top rank of the ballet company in January.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini praised Tissi’s move calling it a “brave and noble choice”.
I can not act like nothing is happening
Brazilian Bolshoi dancer David Motta Soares
On the same day, Brazilian dancer David Motta Soares also announced his resignation. The 24-year-old, a leading soloist at the Bolshoi, sent a message of solidarity with those “struggling” in Ukraine.
“I’m deeply sad to say that I have left the Bolshoi Theater my teachers my (colleagues) my friends my family the place I called home for many years,” Soares wrote on Instagram.
“I can not act like nothing is happening, I just can not believe this is all happening again I thought we have (been) through this and learned (from) the past,” he wrote.




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by David Motta Soares (@davidmottasoares)



The two resignations followed that of the Bolshoi Theatre’s music director and principal conductor, Tugan Sokhiev, who stepped down on March 6, saying he felt pressured to take a position on the Ukraine conflict.
Sokhiev also said he was resigning as conductor of an orchestra in the French city of Toulouse, where officials had pressed him to clarify his attitude to the invasion.
“Today I am forced to make a choice and choose one of my musical family over the other. I am being asked to choose one cultural tradition over the other,” he said in an English-language post on Facebook.

“I have decided to resign from my positions as Music Director of Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse with immediate effect.”
Meanwhile the Royal Opera House in London announced on March 7 that it would not be using a former colleague of Sokhiev’s at the Bolshoi for an upcoming performance of Swan Lake. Last week, it cancelled a season of performance by the Bolshoi Ballet.
“Given the ongoing situation in Ukraine, it is not possible for Pavel Sorokin, conductor for the Bolshoi Orchestra, to guest conduct for the Royal Ballet at this time,” a statement said.

Last month Russian conductor Valery Gergiev was fired by Italy’s La Scala and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra after he failed to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
As Putin’s forces intensify their attack on Ukraine and the toll of civilians killed mounts, an economic, sporting and cultural backlash against Russia has grown.
Athletes from Russia and close ally Belarus have been barred from the Winter Paralympics. The Cannes Film Festival in France and other major film festivals have banned Russian productions. Major Hollywood studios have stopped distributing films in Russia.
Meanwhile, the curator and artists behind Russia’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale art show resigned in protest at the war in Ukraine.
China has also suffered a cultural backlash for its refusal to join in condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A local administration in France has scrapped a loan of artworks by Henri Matisse for a major exhibition this month, citing the geopolitical crisis initiated by Russia’s declaration of war on Ukraine as the reason.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse. Additional reporting by Staff Reporter


G7 slams China’s ‘dangerous’ moves in South China Sea, voices strong support for Ukraine

Trump urges Putin to spare Ukrainian troops in Kursk

What Trump really wants is to be rid of a ‘loser war’ in Ukraine

G7 seeks unity as Trump’s tariffs and Ukraine stance weighs on ties

Ukraine

Lead dancers quit Bolshoi Ballet over Ukraine crisis as cultural backlash against Russia grows

Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Jacopo Tissi performs a scene from Swan Lake in 2018. He has resigned over the Ukraine crisis, saying “No war can be justified”. Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev\TASS via Getty Images

Russian Tugan Sokhiev conducts the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra in 2019. He has resigned as music director of the Bolshoi Theatre and of the French National Orchestra Toulouse, where officials had pressed him to clarify his attitude to the invasion of Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE

Bolshoi Orchestra conductor Pavel Sorokin has been dropped from performances of Swan Lake by the Royal Opera House ballet in London because of “the ongoing situation in Ukraine”. Photo: Xrisanfa/Wikipedia

Ukraine invasion: the sporting sanctions hitting Russia, from stripping Putin of judo honour to cancelling major events

Dinamo Zagreb supporters hold a banner in support of Ukraine during the UEFA Europa League football second leg match between Dinamo Zagreb and Sevilla FC. Photo AFP

A ‘Football Stands Together’ message is displayed in Ukrainian colours ahead of the English League Cup final football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Russian president Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony to award prizewinners of an international judo tournament in 2018. Photo: Reuters 

Cancel culture: how social media has stopped us from holding the rich and powerful to account

‘Cancel culture’ has taken aim at prominent figures, including Ivanka Trump. Photo: EPA

Jan 13, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Movie actor Vince Vaughn greets First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald J. Trump in the College Football Playoff national championship game between the Clemson Tigers and the LSU Tigers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Lifestyle

Arts

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

Europe


The best-known cultural institution in Russia lost principal dancer Jacopo Tissi, Brazilian leading soloist David Motta Soares, and its music director in the space of 48 hours
The Royal Opera House, which cancelled the Bolshoi Ballet’s London season last week, dropped a Bolshoi Orchestra conductor for performances of Swan Lake



Invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces prompts newly appointed principal dancer, Italian Jacopo Tissi, and Brazilian lead dancer to quit Bolshoi Ballet. Earlier its music director quit and a UK tour was cancelled.


Russia

Classical music

Ukraine war