Statement

On November 7th and 8th 2023, the Bolshoi Ballet will perform my ballet "Silentium", originally created in 2020.

Although the performance rights for this work have expired as of September 2023, and the theater has approached me to renew them for another three years, my team and I have decided we cannot accept their offer in good conscience.

Both the director of the Theater and the ballet company have decided to perform it anyway, putting myself and my team in a very uncomfortable situation vis-a-vis the dancers and our peers, and I deeply regret it.

Since the war in Ukraine began, I have struggled with conflicting feelings.

On the one hand, I have deep sympathy for the artists who have found themselves caught in the middle of the Russian government's actions.

On the other hand, I cannot ignore the official and diplomatic significance of this institution within the state apparatus, and continuing to work with them in any capacity, even remotely, would be seen, in my opinion, as an endorsement of the government's actions in Ukraine.

I understand that being a performer in these circumstances can be challenging.

Dance can be seen as just dance, after all, but it bears, in my opinion, a much wider political, spiritual, and ethical significance that one should and must not ignore.

Martin Chaix

Thomas Mika and Alexandar Noshpal are co-signers of this statement.

P.S. This statement is specific to me and my team and is not intended to reflect the opinions of the other artists involved in this ballet evening.