OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (June 28, 2022) — Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) will host the Kyiv City Ballet this fall in the troupe’s only stop in the state. The two shows on Oct. 9 are part of the Kyiv City Ballet’s inaugural tour of the United States.

“We are honored to welcome the world-renowned Kyiv City Ballet to OCCC on their historic U.S. tour,” said OCCC President Dr. Mautra Staley Jones. “Our Visual and Performing Arts Center consistently attracts high caliber talent, and the Kyiv City Ballet is no exception. We are honored and privileged to have the ballet here for Oklahomans to experience and enjoy.”

The day before Ukraine was invaded in February, the Kyiv City Ballet unknowingly took one of the last flights out of Kyiv. The company flew to Paris to begin a long-planned tour and have not returned home.

“We are honored to share the beauty of ballet with U.S. audiences, through Ukranian artists,” said Ivan Kozlov, Kyiv City Ballet artistic director. “Touring the States for the first time with a range of ballets makes an important global statement. It demonstrates the resilience of the Ukrainian people.”

The U.S. tour will feature a full-length Swan Lake, excerpts from Les Sylphides and Carmen, and several works by Ukrainian choreographers: Thoughts, a contemporary ballet, choreographed by Vladyslav Dobshynskyi; Tribute to Peace, a neo-classical work, choreographed by Kyiv City Ballet’s Artistic Director, Ivan Kozlov; and Men of Kyiv, a Ukranian folk dance, choreographed by Pavlo Virsky. The two programs at OCCC will include selected works from that repertoire.

Two of Ukraine’s prima ballerinas, Krystina Kadashevych and Oksana Bondarenko, will perform with the company on their U.S. tour. The company’s principal dancer is Vsevolod Maevskiy, a former soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet and Kozlov’s former student.

The Kyiv City Ballet will perform at OCCC’s Visual and Performing Arts Center on Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The performances are part of OCCC’s 2022-2023 Performing Arts Series. Season tickets for the series go on sale to the general public on July 5. Single tickets for the Kyiv City Ballet go on sale on August 1. For more information, go to tickets.occc.edu or call the OCCC Box Office at 405.682.7579.

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