Pro-Russian ballet performance in Florence cancelled after advocacy campaign

A performance featuring pro-Russian artists scheduled to take place in Florence has been cancelled following sustained advocacy by NAU – Network Associazioni per Ucraina and the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy, alongside a broad coalition of civil society actors.

The ballet Pas de deux for toes and fingers, starring Russian performers Svetlana Zakharova and Vadim Repin, had been scheduled for Jan. 20–21 at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. 

On Jan. 8, the theater announced that the performances would not go ahead, citing “ongoing international tensions creating an environment that may jeopardize the successful performance.”

Ukrainian organizations and partners raised concerns about the planned event in December, pointing to the public political affiliations of the invited artists and warning against the symbolic normalization of representatives of Russia’s cultural elite during Russia’s ongoing bloody war against Ukraine. 

The advocacy effort included public outreach and a petition signed not only by organizations within NAU, but also by Italian and international human rights groups, academics, cultural figures, journalists, and members of the public.

The concerns were heightened by the broader context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, in which Ukrainian cultural figures continue to be killed. 

The theater confirmed that ticket holders are eligible for refunds, with procedures in place for purchases made online, by phone, or at the box office.

Ukrainian organizations welcomed the decision, stressing that artistic freedom must be accompanied by ethical responsibility, particularly when cultural platforms risk being used to legitimize or normalize a state responsible for aggression, war crimes, and the systematic destruction of another nation’s cultural and human life.