Ukrainian ballet dancers find refuge at US ballet schools

Since the war began, a U.S.-based nonprofit has helped relocate more than 250 Ukrainian dancers with help from philanthropist Howard Buffett.

Dozens of young ballet dancers are finding refuge at U.S. ballet schools to continue their passion after escaping the war in Ukraine.

Nikita Malaki, 17, feels most at home on stage after his own hometown of Kyiv was bombarded by rocket fire.

“I remember it was just a regular day. I was about to go to school. I heard some weird sounds like bombs or rockets. We realized the war began. First days, we were sleeping in shelters. We were scared for our lives,” Malaki told ABC News.

“I love to perform. I love to be on stage. How I feel when I’m dancing, it’s amazing,” Malaki said.

PHOTO: Nikita Malaki, 17, is shown practicing ballet in front of a dance studio mirror.
Nikita Malaki, 17, is shown practicing ballet in front of a dance studio mirror.
ABC News

When the war began, 18-year-old Yeva Hrytsak was dancing in Switzerland and about to return home to Dnipro, Ukraine, when she got a call from her mom that turned her world upside down.

“She says, ‘Yeva, there is a war in our country. All the airports are bombed, so there is no way back home.’ I was scared. I was so scared.” Hrytsak told ABC News.

Life changed in an instant, with schools shutting down, theaters shuttered and ballet studios suddenly closed.

Both Malaki and Hrytsak’s parents sprang into action, calling New Jersey-based Larissa Saveliev, a former Bolshoi Ballet dancer who’s well connected in the tight-knit ballet community. Saveliev told ABC News that parents were calling her saying, “Please get my child out of here. We’re not sure where, just out of here.”

MORE: Inside Ukraine's leading trauma hospital, where surgeons now work to save badly wounded soldiers

Saveliev founded Youth America Grand Prix, a scholarship and ballet competition that has matched dancers with ballet schools around the world for more than two decades.

“So we contacted our partner schools, and we tell them, ‘Guys, would you accommodate some Ukrainian dancers?’ Literally in 24 hours they say, ‘Yes, we will,’” Saveliev said.

PHOTO: Yeva Hrytsak, 18, is shown practicing ballet moves with fellow dancer Nikita Malaki at the piano.
Yeva Hrytsak, 18, is shown practicing ballet moves with fellow dancer Nikita Malaki at the piano.
ABC News

Since the war began, Saveliev has helped relocate more than 250 Ukrainian dancers with the help of philanthropist Howard Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

Howard Buffett said that he happened to see a story about the dancers on the news one night.

“I believe that some of these young men and women are going to achieve an amazing dream some day,” Buffett told ABC News.

Howard Buffett’s foundation has granted more than $2.5 million to support the exiled Ukrainian dancers.

“Here’s this group of kids. They've had their whole life taken away from them, and they've done nothing to deserve that,” Buffett said.

Still, it’s a difficult situation for the young dancers, who remain thousands of miles away from their friends and family.

MORE: Killed, kidnapped and traumatized: Children under attack in Russia’s war against Ukraine

A few months ago, Malaki, who is training in Philadelphia with the famed Rock School for Dance Education, said he found out that his uncle died in Bakhmut while fighting for Ukraine. Dance now serves as a refuge from the pain back home.

“Every day I'm waking up with wanting to go to studios to work and rehearsing. I have a huge motivation to become a professional dancer in the company,” Malaki said.

“When I start dancing, I'm like, transformed into a different world where I just feel like I'm just in somewhere magical world and there is no problems. There is nothing to worry about,” said Hrytsak, who just landed a spot with the Houston Ballet Academy.

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