dancers. alexei ratmansky is a world renowned choreographer with roots in both russia and ukraine, once director of the bolshoi ballet in moscow, and now putting on a special production of gisele with the united ukrainian ballet to show the world ukrainian culture lives on. has ballet become a battleground? alexei ratmansky, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, an honour to be here. you hardtalk. thank you very much, an honour to be here. an honour to be here. you are here in london an honour to be here. you are here in london because - an honour to be here. you are here in london because you i here in london because you mounting this extraordinary set of performances of gisele. performed by ukrainian dancers. can you go about putting on how can you go about putting on a performance with ukrainians when their country is at war? there was an extraordinary project, it started in march, i received a call from my friend in holland, she is a former principal ballerina, and
i hope that russia will change and i can return, because it is and i can return, because it is a part of me. and i can return, because it is a part of me- and i can return, because it is a part of me. how ambitious are ou for a part of me. how ambitious are you for the a part of me. how ambitious are you for the ukrainian a part of me. how ambitious are you for the ukrainian ballet? i you for the ukrainian ballet? you have built the script from scratch. now, of course, it is temporary and many of them will go back to ukraine, many of them have a very difficult circumstances, but would you like to see in the future of this planting a seed of sort of artistic renaissance inside ukraine? , ., , of artistic renaissance inside ukraine? , ., of artistic renaissance inside ukraine? , . ., ukraine? yes, that is a great ambition ukraine? yes, that is a great ambition and ukraine? yes, that is a great ambition and hope. - ukraine? yes, that is a great ambition and hope. i - ukraine? yes