On June 21, 2023, a very special »In C« porject took place. Despite the ongoing war, the piece was performed live in Ukraine by a group of Ukrainian dancers as part of the KharkivMusicFest.


Despite the crisis situation, dancers from Kiev and Kharkiv were not only able to rehearse the choreographic material with the help of live online rehearsals under the guidance of dancer and tutor Orlando Rodriguez from Sasha Waltz & Guests. They were also able to learn the entire piece. On June 21, 2023, this special adaptation of »In C« was presented live at the Theater and Concert Center in Kharkiv.

»In C« as part of the KharkivMusicFest in Ukraine, June 2023

©Yevgen Korol​

Even before the war began, Vitali Alekseenok and Sasha Waltz came up with the idea of showing the choreography as part of the KharkivMusicFest. Although the start of the war in February 2022 initially prevented the project, the plans for the 2023 festival edition were fortunately resumed.


Contact with the festival was established via the Belarusian conductor Vitali Alekseenok, who has been Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf since 2022 and Artistic Director of the KharkivMusicFest since 2021. In recent years, he has been in active artistic exchange with Sasha Waltz & Guests, including for an interdisciplinary and digital »Zuhören« edition created during the coronavirus pandemic.

»In C« as part of the KharkivMusicFest in Ukraine, June 2023
©Yevgen Korol

The KharkivMusicFest is an annual festival for classical music, where famous Ukrainian and international artists perform in Ukraine's second largest city. The festival strives to build new cultural bridges between different regions of Ukraine and other countries.

The dance cast in charkiv

©Yevgen Korol