(Rio de Janeiro) The Brazilian David Motta Soares and the Italian Jacopo Tissi, both dancers of the Bolshoi, cultural emblem of Russia, announced their resignation Monday, in solidarity with the victims of the conflict in Ukraine.
Posted yesterday at 3:02 p.m.
“It is with deep sadness that I left the Bolshoi Theatre, my teachers, my colleagues, my friends and the place that I considered my home for so many years,” wrote the 24-year-old Brazilian. on Instagram.
His compatriot Victor Caixeta, second soloist at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, also announced his departure from Russia on Monday after five years, specifying that it was a “break” and not a resignation. On Instagram, he said he felt “the pain of all the Ukrainian people”.
“I can’t act like nothing happened. I can’t believe this is happening again and I thought we learned lessons from the past, ”added David Motta Soares in his message illustrating a photo of him performing a dance step.
David Motta Soares stressed that he had “a lot of friends” in Ukraine: “I can’t imagine how much they must be suffering right now, my heart is with them! “.
David Motta Soares, who grew up in Cabo Frio, a seaside town 150 km from Rio de Janeiro, joined the legendary Bolshoi dance school in Moscow at the age of 12.
He graduated from this school in 2015, won a prize in a competition for young dancers that same year and rose to the rank of soloist.
To his resignation was added during the day that of the Italian Jacopo Tissi, principal dancer at the Bolshoi.
“I am shocked by this situation which is happening to us overnight, and quite honestly, I find myself unable to continue my career in Moscow, at the moment,” the dancer said on Instagram.
In addition to the stars of the Bolshoi, the Briton Xander Parish, principal dancer at the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg, also announced his departure from the famous ballet on Sunday evening.
“Tonight, I had to interpret Giselle at the Mariinsky Theater, but instead, because of this terrible crisis, I made the difficult decision to leave Russia, at least until peace returns,” he claimed on Instagram.
On Sunday, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow had already received a blow, with the resignation of its musical director, the Russian conductor Tugan Sokhiev, who said he was under pressure to take a stand on events in Ukraine.
On February 25, the Royal Opera House in London announced the cancellation of Bolshoi performances scheduled for this summer, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.