Barcelona holds a very special place in the hearts of all members of the Kyiv Ballet. The bond between the city and the company, directed by Víktor Ishchuk, dates back to 2022, when Barcelona was the first to host the Ballet at a dramatic moment, when it was forced to reorganize its international activity. The objective was to guarantee the continuity of its artistic project, in the context of the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. To keep dancing, despite the shrapnel, the ammunition, the explosions, the spilled blood.
That period in Barcelona, five years ago now, was extremely important, because it marked the beginning of a new phase that allowed the company to continue growing. In the Ciudad Condal, the members of the Ballet found the necessary ground to continue evolving in their expressive language and in their artistic proposal, without renouncing their identity or losing an iota of their high performative level.
Many things have happened since then. Many steps forward, and jumps and caprioles executed with that mix between the exactness of the gesture and the poetry of the body. The Kyiv Ballet is, today, one of the classical ballet private companies with the greatest international projection, with an intense artistic activity that has led its members to express their talent and expertise on some of the main stages of Europe, Asia and America, interpreting works such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle, Carmen, Scheherazade, Les Sylphides, Cinderella, Zorba the Greek or Eyes Wide Shut, among others. In the 2025-2026 season alone, the company has performed more than 220 shows, bringing together more than 350,000 spectators. That's something.
And yes, the world is big, enormous, vast, full of magnificent stages… But, ah, Barcelona: it's always there. The place where not many things started, but they did stay alive. They did have the capacity to mature, to keep alive the dream that Víktor Ishchuk had made real in 2017, when he finally managed to put together a stable company that could show the world the mastery and professionalism of Ukraine's most prominent ballet stars. Barcelona is, therefore, a place to return to.
Teatro Tívoli, like home
Between August 18 and 30, the Kyiv Ballet returns to the Teatre Tívoli in Barcelona, which is like saying it returns home, to present a new season of Swan Lake, a masterpiece of classical ballet.
A difficult-to-avoid engagement for Barcelona's classical dance lovers, the audience will be able to enjoy, on this occasion, a different performance, which reflects the profound artistic and generational renewal that the company has been experiencing, bringing together emerging young talents and renowned international figures.
In its search for the always complicated combination between fidelity to the tradition of classical ballet and a contemporary staging, the company dresses the classic by master Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with newly created scenographies, a sophisticated lighting design, aesthetically rich costumes, and careful artistic direction. All of this, to continue offering the best in its summer engagement with the city's ballet fans.