“Wartime Elegy” steps inside life at the National Opera of Ukraine, where dancers rehearse amid a country at war, their work regularly interrupted by air raid alarms. For their local community, performance has become something more than art: a form of escape, offering audiences a rare space for relaxation and rebirth amid ongoing conflict.
This short documentary is followed by a live performance capture of three works: Alexei Ratmansky’s Wartime Elegy, Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos, and John Neumeier’s Spring and Fall. Together, the film captures both the resilience behind the curtain and the artistry on stage, a testament to what it means to keep dancing through war. Directed by Bertrand Normand, “Wartime Elegy” finds Ukraine’s National Opera dancers turning performance into survival.
This film is not available to stream in Japan or Germany.
