Russian ballerina Olga Smirnova ‘defects’ from the Bolshoi

The war critic left Russia and is now in the Netherlands

17 March 2022 - 08:06 By Toby Sterling
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Olga Smirnova, pictured on the right, will join the Dutch National Ballet after she quit the Bolshoi. File image.
Olga Smirnova, pictured on the right, will join the Dutch National Ballet after she quit the Bolshoi. File image.
Image: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova, a critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has quit the Bolshoi and will join the Dutch National Ballet, the Dutch organisation said on Wednesday.

“It is a privilege to have her dance with our company in the Netherlands — even if the circumstances that drove this move are incredibly sad,” said Dutch National Ballet Director Ted Brandsen in a statement.

Smirnova, 30, left Russia in March. In a statement on her Telegram account republished by the Dutch dance troupe she said she was “against war with all the fibres of my soul.”

“I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia, I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our cultural and athletic achievements,” she wrote. “But now I feel that a line has been drawn.”

Smirnova is now physically in the Netherlands, a spokesperson for the ballet confirmed.

Reuters


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