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Reporting and Photography: Lieba Nesis
On Saturday November 16th 2024 the World Premiere of “Front Row” took place at the Village East by Angelika at 6:15 PM. On an unusually balmy evening that quickly changed its course, a glimpse into the tragic outcome of the Ukrainian war was given as documented by director Miriam Guttmann who chronicled the United Ukrainian Ballet Company’s 2023-24 tour of the US.
With 60 dancers fleeing to the Netherlands for their safety while many relatives remain on the front lines the film depicts the ballet company’s valiant efforts to keep their cultural heritage alive despite Ukraine’s destruction. Knowing Sarah Jessica Parker’s fondness for the ballet as a member of New York City Ballet’s Board of Directors it was no surprise she chose to executive produce a movie that highlights the plight of war through the lens of a dance company that is struggling to survive both financially and physically.
On February 24th 2022 Russia preemptively invaded Ukraine in an attack that has killed and injured more than half a million Ukrainians. Film protagonist Oleksandr Budko was a barista in Kyiv in 2022 when he was conscripted to the army and hit by a shell in Kharkiv that resulted in both his legs being amputated. After being fitted for prosthetics in Orlando principal dancer Alexis Tuttinique sent him an Instagram message inviting him to watch the United Ukrainian Ballet’s Giselle. So inspired by the performance Oleksandr decides to join the company as he trains for his own performance of Giselle in California alongside his newfound colleagues. The film dramatically showcases his painstaking efforts to dance despite his physical limitations as numerous closeups of his truncated legs are shown depicting the horrific consequences of an unnecessary war.
We share in his nervousness as he wonders whether he will disappoint the audience by falling on stage. While he ultimately triumphs the nearly two hour film concludes with him lying in bed with two stumps as legs so as not to mask the hardships of his everyday existence. Humanizing the effects of the nonstop bombardment of Ukraine is necessitated by the scant media coverage this unimaginable war has been given. As philanthropists such as Elizabeth Segerstrom along with her friend actor Liev Schreiber work tirelessly to publicize the plight of the Ukrainians one wonders when and if this military aggression will conclude. At the afterparty at Bronze Owl on West 33rd street producer Bart Meuter implored guests to make donations to assist the ballet company as funds are drying up as the Dutch government is no longer supporting them. As the evening concluded without an expected afterparty cameo by Sarah Jessica guests headed home having been much enlightened by a sobering evening as to the grave consequences of war.
