Alexei Ratmansky: The challenges of staging Ukrainian ballet during the war

Russian-born choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who recently staged a production of Giselle in London with the United Ukrainian Ballet, told the BBC about the challenges of working on it during the war in Ukraine is ongoing.

"Dancers have families. I have a family in Kyiv. We all check the information all the time," said Ratmansky, who grew up in Ukraine. , to the program's Hardtalk Stephen Sackur.

"You wake up in the morning and you want to know which cities were bombed, how many people were killed, which buildings have been destroyed and check that all your loved ones are safe and well."

The United Ukrainian Ballet is a group of Ukrainian dancers, technicians and creators who fled their country when Russia invaded and are now based in the Netherlands.

Ratmansky, former principal dancer of the National Ballet of Ukraine, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Royal Danish Ballet, was Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet from 2004 before joining Amer ican Ballet Theater in 2009 as artist in residence. He was working on a new production with the Bolshoi when the conflict broke out and he left Russia.

Watch the full interview on BBC World News on Monday, September 26.