Travel to a country at war

Wednesday, 19-04-2023.
Parkstad Theatres Limburg Heerlen.

Sunny day.

Have program booklets printed at the Bongerd.

The company rehearses on stage, a coming together of different line-ups.

Director Jean-François D'Hondt comes from Antwerp to oversee the direction.

Asparagus soup and sandwiches for all employees in the artist foyer.

Melancholic atmosphere because it is the last day that this company is in the Netherlands.

The hall is filled with opera lovers.

Overwhelming final standing ovation.

What a beautiful Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème.

Impressed by the whole team and in particular by soprano Maryna Naymitenko.

Special and again very emotional achievement.

Bravissimo for the National Opera & Ballet of Ukraine from Odessa.

Short aftertaste with Bas Schoonderwoerd and much shorter meeting with the newly appointed director.

Emotional farewell to the ensemble.

After the performance in 19 hours to the Polish border.

From there by sleeper train to Odessa.

Safe trip dear friends!

Slava Ukraini! Geroyam Slava!

End of blog April tour 2023, Dutch National Opera & Ballet Ukraine, Odessa.

Dinsdag, 18-04-2023.

Amersfoort-Utrecht-Sittard per trein.

Aanbellen bij de hoofdingang van het Toon Hermanstheater.

Geen grap: de medewerker die de deur opendoet lijkt op een jongere broer van de befaamde Sittardse komiek.

Ontspannen in een fauteuil van de productiekamer.

Afwerking contracten en betalingen.

Gezelschap in Japanse kledij.

In het centrum van het podium een enorme houten Japanse Tempelachtige constructie van Karel Spanhak.

Het geraamte van de opera Madama Butterfly.

Opnieuw vanavond met de uitzonderlijke sopraan Yuliia Tereschuk.

Gesprek met de theaterprogrammeur en met zangers.

De technici zijn klaar.

Buiten zon maar niet warm vanwege oostelijke wind.

Voorstelling verloopt soepel en publiek is ontroerd, te horen aan de daverende staande ovatie, geroep en gefluit.

Wodka in de artiestenfoyer voordat de boel wordt afgeruimd.

Terugreis naar accommodaties in Deurne.

Morgen Heerlen.

Allerlaatste show en morgen ook allerlaatste blog van deze tournee. 

19-04-2023 Parkstad Limburg Theaters Heerlen: La Bohème.

To be continued.

Maandag, 17-04-2023.
Amersfoort-Den Haag per trein.

Als adolescent, legde ik jarenlang, in m’n Conservatoriumtijd deze route af.

Dwars door het Groene Hart van Nederland.

We naderen de laatste fase van deze opwindende tournee met het Nationale Opera & Ballet van Oekraïne uit Odessa.

De danstheaterzaal is volledig gevuld met operaliefhebbers.

Madama Butterfly van maestro Puccini staat op het menu.

Ontroerend verisme.

Fraaie stemmen in een sobere regie en vormgeving.

In de pauze een meet up met de theaterprogrammeur.

Het beroemde tragische verhaal van de jonge Geisha die haar hart verliest aan een Amerikaanse marineofficier ontvouwt zich en trekt het publiek mee.

Tranen na afloop.

Natuurlijk ook bij het Oekraïense volkslied.

Kunstencentrum Amare is prachtig, groots maar ook een beetje een doolhof.

Na de voorstelling een korte meeting met een delegatie van de Oekraïense ambassade.

Per trein terug.

Morgen Sittard.

18-04-2023 Toon Hermans Theater Sittard: Madama Butterfly.

19-04-2023 Parkstad Limburg Theaters Heerlen: La Bohème.

To be continued.

Zondag, 16-04-2023.
Volle trein vanuit Amersfoort.

Marathon in Rotterdam.

Geblokkeerde straten.

Filmopname in Nieuwe Luxor.

Raar gevoel vanwege laatste Carmina Burana show van deze tournee.

Twee keer catering op de dag.

Middag, scene registratie op podium.

Tim is ingehuurd om dansers te masseren.

Zaal is uitverkocht. 1200+ bezoekers. Uitzonderlijk.

Het realiseren van dit gewaagde project was een enorm avontuur en een gigantisch risico.

In deze laatste uitvoering wordt nog spectaculairder gespeelt, gedanst en gezongen.

Opnieuw golf van ontroering door de zaal, een van de grootste van Nederland.

Mijn voortreffelijke assistente Julia Mitomi is in het blauw-geel gekleed voor deze adembenemende finale.

Eindigend in een eindeloos applaus.

De Oekraïense hymne laat weer tranen rollen.

Op het achterdoek werd “Stop the invasion of Ukraine” geprojecteerd.

Na de voorstelling foto’s met de Oekraïense ambassadeur en cultureel attachée,

Veel gasten die met ons glazen rode wijn heffen in de artiestenfoyer. Ter viering van het onverwachte succes van deze tournee.

Emotioneel afscheid van de dansers die snel weer de bus in moeten om binnen 19 uur bij de Pools-Oekraïense grens te kunnen zijn. Waar ze weer zullen worden ondervraagd en gecheckt met de kans om het leger in te moeten. Onderweg moet een geklapte band verwisseld worden.

Dit is een politieke tournee geworden. Oekraïners hebben vol overgave op het podium voor hun bestaansrecht gezongen, gedanst en gespeelt.

Wat een moedige mensen!

Enkele van de vele reacties per Whatsapp na de voorstelling:

“Zeer indrukwekkend en prachtig was het vanavond! Kunnen we de regisseur bedanken? We zaten op rij 10 en konden het goed zien. Nu, na afloop voel ik me net als na de Mattheüs Passion, zo vol van emotie. En dan ter afsluiting het Oekraïense volkslied.. Wat een kracht en vastberadenheid om je niet klein te laten krijgen. Heel erg hartelijk bedankt, jij ook! 💖” Moeder van theaterprogrammeur de Flint.

“Lieve Gerard, ik ben zo trots op je! Je hebt jezelf overtroffen! Wat een prachtige voorstelling, geweldige choreografie, origineel toneelbeeld en spannende effecten! Ik was zeer onder de indruk, net als iedereen. Wat heerlijk dat San Fu het gefilmd heeft! Een kroon op je werk! Wieteke”

“We zitten nog na te genieten van de prachtige voorstelling. Chapeau!!! Nogmaals heel veel dank voor je uitnodiging. Respect! 💕”

Tot en met woensdag speelt de Nationale Opera van Oekraïne, Odessa drie Puccini opera’s:

17-04-2023 Amare Den Haag: Madama Butterfly.

18-04-2023 Toon Hermans Theater Sittard: Madama Butterfly.

19-04-2023 Parkstad Limburg Theaters Heerlen: La Bohème.

To be continued.

Vrijdag, 15-04-2023.
Leeuwarden, Schouwburg De Harmonie.

Met de trein vanuit Deurne via Utrecht naar Leeuwarden.

Zonovergoten, vlakke, agrarische landschappen met schilderachtige wolkenpartijen zoals bij de Hollandse meesters. Prettig om tijdens het reizen door de ruimte op je notebook werk te kunnen verzetten. Nederland kent veel fraai gebied.

Lunch in Leeuwarden. Opnieuw volle zaal tot hoog op het balkon. Welluidende akoestiek en genereus podium om op te bewegen. Na laatste toon: catharsis. De zaal staat onmiddellijk op en gaat op in een gefluit, geroep en oneindig, luid geapplaudisseer.

Er bevindt zich een grote groep Oekraïense vluchtelingen in de zaal die met blauw-gele vlag Slava Ukraini! Geroyam Slava! scanderen.

Heftige emoties in het publiek en op het podium. De zangers en dansers op het podium reageren per onmiddellijk.

Het orkest zet het nationale Oekraïense volkslied in en met hand op het hart wordt er plechtig en indrukwekkend gezongen. Het publiek kijkt ontroerd toe.

Gordijn sluit, waarna de theaterbezoekers onder geroezemoes naar de foyer vertrekken.

Diepe omhelzingen van ontroering op het podium.Het theater heeft een grote groep Oekraïense vluchtelingen naar de voorstelling weten te krijgen. In een Meet & Greet boven in de schouwburg treffen de dirigent en solisten deze tranende landgenoten.

De theaterprogrammeur betuigde dat hij van de uitvoering genoot. Na korte gesprekken met bezoekers en bekenden vertrek ik met een busje terug naar Amersfoort.

Zaterdag thuis werken.Daarna laatste voorstelling dag en filmopname in Rotterdam waar een Marathon de stad in beslag neemt.

Still to see:
Sunday April 16: Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam

(Tevens opname film. Laatste kaarten.)

To be continued.

Thursday, 4/13/2023.

Amersfoort, Theater De Flint. 

Back in my hometown.

The MyPos mobile payment terminal for program booklets is finally working.

Give an introduction about the creation of this production in the foyer at the top of the theatre.

Beautiful sunlit view over the picturesque center of my hometown.

The Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren opposite theater de Lieve-Vrouw with which I have co-produced several performances.

The Muurhuizen area with the former homes of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and Piet Mondriaan within it.

Around 65 people showed up to hear my story and ask questions.

Show starts at 20:15.

Schouwburg is again overcrowded.

There is a diligent search for places to allow people to sit.

Smooth running of the show.

This Carmina Burana was made in Odessa just before the pandemic in February 2020.

At the time, no one could have imagined that there was something forward-looking in this production “by chance”. Orff's violent energy, subcutaneous, menacing tension, mystical and rhythmic pieces of music, elaborated in image and movement, seem to anticipate the current invasion of a courageous and powerful, freedom-loving country that, according to a Muscovite potentate, has no right to to exist.

That they do have a right to exist has been demonstrated this week by powerful statements on stage by Ukrainian artists, eliciting long, whooping standing ovations from large, packed auditoriums.

After the performance glasses of red wine in the artist foyer for the whole company to celebrate the success of the tour and the emotional response of the audience.

Back to Deurne.

Sold out tomorrow Leeuwarden.

Photos: William Da Lima. 

Friday April 14
Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden (sold out)

Sunday April 16
Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Also recording film. Last tickets.)

To be continued.

Wednesday, 4/12/2023.

Sittard, Toon Hermans Theater.

Still problems with activation of MyPos payment terminal for program booklets.

We can borrow the device from the theater.

Meeting with programmer Mikos Pieters.

Rain all day again.

Good atmosphere in the company.

Execution was smoothest so far and again moving.

Full room again and huge energy wave.

Rolling tears, emotional audience.

An appropriate three glasses of vodka with programmer Pieters afterwards and back to the accommodation near Deurne.

See fleeting nice reactions in my mailbox and in the NRC, Theaterkrant and Opera Magazine.

Still a lot of agency work such as booking hotel rooms for technicians, organizing catering, etc.

Tomorrow in Amersfoort sold out. Photos: William Da Lima.

Thursday April 13
Theater De Flint, Amersfoort (sold out)

Friday April 14
Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden (sold out)

Sunday April 16
Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Also recording film. Last tickets.)

To be continued.

Tuesday, 11-04-2023.

Morning: lots of office work in Amersfoort.

Tight and busy schedule.

I'm bringing a MyPos mobile pin machine that we bought last week for the sale of our program booklets.

Unfortunately, this still doesn't seem to work.

The verification of ID documents takes too much time because of Easter.

Then by train to Gouda.

Meeting with programmer of the Goudse Schouwburg Alex Mooren.

Lunch at City Hall.

Goudse Schouwburg is sold out.

Powerful energy on stage and in the room.

Presentation goes smoothly.

Emotional reaction wave after the last Carmina Burana note.

Audience stands up immediately.

Prolonged applause and cheers.

Ukrainian national anthem causes extra emotion.

Catharsis.

Wanted to meet my ex-conservatory dance teachers whom I invited.

However, an international delegation of theater programmers had to speak.

Thank you for coming dear Hanneke and Hanna.

I invite you as soon as I can for a nice dinner together.

Lots of love.

The bus ride from Gouda to accommodation near Deurne takes almost an hour and a half.

Next theatre: Sittard.

Photos: William Dalima Tuaselasatumalay

Carmina Burana by National Opera & Ballet Ukraine, Odessa.

Still to see:

Wednesday April 12
Toon Hermans Theater, Sittard (Sold Out)

Thursday April 13
Theater De Flint, Amersfoort (Sold out)

Friday April 14
Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden (Sold Out)

Sunday April 16
Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Also recording film.) (Last tickets still available)

To be continued.

10-04-2023, Alphen aan den Rijn.

With choir and ballet on the bus to Theater Castellum. Classic Dutch weather: endless rain. Quickly to the supermarket with a few dancers.

A lot to do.

Meet Jeroen Stout from Plastic Radio.

Interview at 19:00 with Gijs Groenteman in the foyer.

Soprano Alina Tkachuk and conductor Igor Chernetski join in briefly.

Julia Mitomi simultaneously runs the stage rehearsal unparalleled.

Meeting with the programmer of the theatre.

Sympathetic, experienced and calm man.

Fuworks film crew arrives and prepares the registration for next Sunday in New Luxor.

Fully occupied room again.

Work light remains on for the first five minutes after the start for unclear reasons.

The performance is running.

Once again a cheering, standing ovation from the audience and emotion when the Ukrainian national anthem is sung on stage. Overwhelming energy and emotion. I'm on stage too. Hold the flag. Conductor Igor Chernetski: “Gerard, you are also a Ukrainian”. Honorable Mention. I feel a lot for the freedom-loving Cossack soul of this courageous European country.

The second performance of the tour is over.

This independent production and tour is, I hope, put in the right perspective by critics. Photos: William Dalima.

To be continued.

Yesterday, Sunday, 09-04-2023.

From 16:00: Dress rehearsal in Theater aan het Vrijthof Maastricht.

Introduction to theater director Brigitte van Eck.

Full room.

Short introduction, opening of the tour for canvas by Consul Honorary of Ukrainian Embassy Karel Burger Dirven.

Applause and shouting.

In the evening: exciting performance in which everyone gives themselves.

Long, screaming standing ovation after performance.

Deep emotions and rolling tears as the Ukrainian national anthem is sung on stage at the end.

Moving evening.

Red wine is drunk with all employees in celebration of the success of this daring project.

The exciting and dangerous adventure has paid off.

Tonight at 19:00 broadcast interview with Gijs Groenteman in NPO1 Radio Kunststof from the foyer of Theater Castellum, Alphen aan den Rijn.

Still to see:

Monday April 10
Theater Castellum, Alphen aan den Rijn (some last tickets left)

Tuesday April 11
Gouda Theater Gouda (Sold Out)

Wednesday April 12
Toon Hermans Theater, Sittard (A few tickets left)

Thursday April 13
Theater De Flint, Amersfoort (Sold out)

Friday April 14
Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden (Sold Out)

Sunday April 16

Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Also recording film.) (Last tickets still available)

To be continued.

Yesterday, Saturday, Amersfoort 08-04-2023.

The group arrived safely in the Netherlands last night.

With some delay at the Ukrainian-Polish border.

Train and bus.

On to the first performance of this sold-out tour.

Photos by Ilona Trach and Vladimir Ekimbashian.

Sunday 9 April

Theater aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht

Monday 10 April

Theater Castellum, Alphen aan den Rijn

Tuesday April 11

Goudse Schouwburg Gouda

Wednesday April 12

Toon Hermans Theater, Sittard

Thursday April 13

Theater De Flint, Amersfoort

Friday April 14

Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden

Sunday April 16

Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Tevens opname film.)

To be continued.

Yesterday, Friday, Amersfoort 07-04-2023.

Back in a totally different world. Completely preoccupied with publicity & marketing, logistics, contracts and the like.

Meanwhile: completely sold out Dutch tour.

Only Sittard and Rotterdam have last tickets.

The enclosed video clip was made in Odessa by one of the dancers of this performance.

Sunday 9 April

Theater aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht

Monday 10 April

Theater Castellum, Alphen aan den Rijn

Tuesday April 11

Goudse Schouwburg Gouda

Wednesday April 12

Toon Hermans Theater, Sittard

Thursday April 13

Theater De Flint, Amersfoort

Friday April 14

Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden

Sunday April 16

Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Tevens opname film.)

To be continued.

Yesterday, Thursday, Odessa 06-04-2023.

Mozart Hotel. Check out, short breakfast. The conductor of the opera house picks us up in the lobby. Drive from Odessa to South Moldovan border. This time in broad daylight. From the outskirts of the city every few kilometers military checkpoints. Armed soldiers everywhere. The conductor, motorist, tells me that some of the men of the company are already serving in the army. And that every male employee between the ages of 18 and 60 can be called upon to join the company at any time. Near the Moldovan border, the landscape changes to hilly.

The number of checkpoints is steadily increasing. Along villages with beautiful Orthodox churches are groups of armed soldiers who stop motorists. We too are being stopped. Passport and purpose of the trip are requested. The conductor informs me that he has single-handedly made an official document for this ride to convince the checkpoints that this is an international cultural project. I see a lot of men getting out and being questioned and checked. Ukrainian men are not allowed to cross the border. Those who flee go straight into the army. An unreal, tense, even panicked atmosphere that I only know from war films. I see trenches for the first time.

We drive across the Dniestr River. The natural border of Transnistria, a strip of Moldova where the Moscovites have stationed a Russian army. With the original intention of enclosing and attacking Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been thoroughly prepared by the Moscotites for years.

Farewell at the border of the conductor who has to play another performance in the afternoon back in the theater. We walk from the Ukrainian to the Moldovan border post. Passports, luggage checked. From the Cyrillic script to the Latin alphabet in Romanian. The Romanian language is easier for us to recognize and understand. In the parking lot behind the Moldovan border, our private driver catches us. A few hours through Moldovan landscapes to the airport in Kishinev.

Moldovan lunch at airport. Transfer in Warsaw. Late at Schiphol. Friday tour preparations in the Netherlands.

Sunday 9 April

Theater aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht

Monday 10 April

Theater Castellum, Alphen aan den Rijn

Tuesday April 11

Goudse Schouwburg Gouda

Wednesday April 12

Toon Hermans Theater, Sittard

Thursday April 13

Theater De Flint, Amersfoort

Friday April 14

Schouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden

Sunday April 16

Nieuwe Luxor, Rotterdam (Tevens opname film.)

To be continued.

Yesterday, Wednesday, 05-04-2023.

No air raid alarm. Rain. All day and evening. Morning interview with management. Then rehearsal. Preliminary final corrections and then passage without choir and orchestra and with one singer. The tenor is not needed now, only appears once in Carmina Burana. Soprano is with family in Germany and comes to the Netherlands for the tour. The dancers give it their all. Applying for a special permit from the Ministry in Kiev to allow male Ukrainian dancers, musicians, singers and technicians to travel abroad during the war takes 10 working days. Ukrainian women do not need ministerial permission to leave the country.

On Friday, the group leaves by train and bus. Odessa, Lviv, Poland, Germany. Late Saturday evening arrival in the Netherlands. Sunday afternoon generale in Vrijthof Maastricht. From then on a performance every day except on Saturdays. Only Maastricht, Sittard and Rotterdam currently have last tickets available. Warm farewell to the dancers we will see again in a few days. Tomorrow morning departure by car to Moldovan border and from there again to airport capital Kishinev. Then Warsaw and back in Amsterdam.

My fellow choreographers in Odessa bring me a bag with bottles of freshly squeezed Georgian pomegranate juice from the Privoz market. A colourful sales district where Black Sea region and Silk Road products can be found since ancient times. And cans of Siberian Kamchatka crab from the deep bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In the Netherlands untraceable, extremely tasty crustaceans. The labels have been torn off the cans so that the country of origin, Moscovia, is illegible.

Something about the context of this performance.

Carmina Burana, Orff's mysterious masterpiece about the capriciousness of fate. A year before the pandemic, I got caught up in this large-scale interdisciplinary project. I was commissioned to provide the old theatre of Odessa with a more modernly elaborated, interdisciplinary edition. A few days before the European lockdowns, this work had an enthusiastic premiere in Odessa.

July 2014 I experienced the premiere of a dance performance with Javanese court dancers in Jakarta. I created this anti-war piece on Stravinsky's Soldier Story together with poet-activist Goenawan Mohamad. Shortly after the festive premiere, I was shocked to see images of the downed MH17 on CNN. A week before, I had landed in Kuala Lumpur with this plane. My favorite Boeing and stopover to Jakarta.I made many flights with this aircraft. For several years I had flown it to Southeast Asia. A part of the world where I have been active as a theatre maker since the fall of the Indonesian military regime.

MH17 flew over Ukraine as standard. On July 17, 2014, it performed its very last flight. A huge shock. An international investigation team later determined that a Moscovite anti-aircraft missile had violently ended this fixed scheduled civil aviation service. 283 victims.

A few years later, in addition to Southeast Asia, I increasingly travel and work through Eastern Europe and especially Ukraine. I used to bring Southeast Asian dance performances to Dutch theaters as a choreographer, with the start of a new impresariat, large productions from Ukraine have been added since 2016. To be continued.

Yesterday, Tuesday, 04-04-2023.

Today it was announced that the attack on Monday night involved 17 Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones.

The Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses managed to shoot a large number of them out of the sky.

Morning rehearsal in the theater's opera studio.

Some dancers could not sleep well from the explosions. There were broken into the studio. Also because their children get upset and panicked. War traumatizes. Partly for this reason, our rehearsal was short and sweet. The ladies were able to leave early. The gentlemen went through a quartet, duet and some solo pieces. The trickiest short solo starts to look a little better. Due to the war, the company has shrunk and due to shortages of players, the workload is high.

On the huge basalt steps to the ballet department a nice reunion with dancer Anastasiia. In February 2020 she dances the first line-up in this Carmina Burana. November 2021 during the troop build-up along the Ukrainian border, her Schengen visa is refused. May not dance the Flemish tour. Because of Russian passport. Sad. Sublime dancer. This theatre is a place where artists from all over the world work together peacefully. Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians, Armenians, Russians, Moldovans. I like this.

Odessa is the third largest city in Ukraine. 90% of the inhabitants speak Russian here. But in the meantime, people here are well on their way to making the native language, Ukrainian the main language. Like once a long time ago. Out of disgust with the occupiers.

The book market on Oleksandr street in Odessa sells rolls of toilet paper. With the head of the Muscovite dictator on it. About books and Odessa: read the masterful and still extremely topical narrator Isaak Babel (1894-1940), an Odessite. Passages from his observations stick in my head.

I don't expect the center of Odessa to be shelled any time soon. Why? The inner city of Odessa, like that of Kiev, is moscovitic cultural-historical heritage in the eyes of Moscovia. The Moscovites dream of being able to incorporate the entire Black Sea coast with Odessa as the crown jewel and capital of colonial Novo Rossiya in one piece. Abject idea.

Imagine a Dutch occupying force bombing and invading Belgium to repair the colonial kingdom from before 1830. Or recolonize and appropriate the sovereign Indonesian archipelago 11,000 kilometers away. Or that the Federal Republic of Germany is following suit. All pre-war German territories are forcibly reclaimed: Alsace-Lorraine, Silesia, Pomerania, Gdansk, Kaliningrad. Japan takes back the Kuril Islands. China the Amur region around Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. Finland Karelia. The UK half the world including the US and Mongols the area from Korea to Hungary. Perhaps the Italians also want to restore the Roman empire under Trajan. The Greeks the empire of Alexander the Great. Not to mention Spain and Portugal.

In the evening a dinner with my Odessitic colleague choreographers. They tell me what I apparently didn't know exactly: national martial law requires people to stay indoors from 10:30 to 05:00 instead of from 12 to 05:00. So after dinner quickly to hotel. Soldiers on the streets.

Nice message:

"Dear customer, calling and sending texts between the Netherlands and Ukraine is free until further notice. This also applies to calls to local numbers within Ukraine when you roam. In addition, you will receive a 15 GB data bundle that you can use in Ukraine. Ask? Call +316xxxxxxxxx. Regards, T-Mobile—"                                                                  

Today, Wednesday, last rehearsal day and another conversation with director. Thursday morning back to Moldova-Warsaw-Amsterdam. Dutch tour starts on Sunday. To be continued.

Monday night-Tuesday morning early, 04-04-2023 01:13.

More than an hour after midnight. I'm still awake and writing. I hear several reverberating explosions in the direction of the Black Sea, far behind the theater and Primorski Boulevard. The war is now very concrete. I hear objects whizzing through the air. Several air raid alarms suddenly sound in the distance. Projectiles must have smashed around the city. I have the window open. Because the heating is too high and I can't set it down. Just now, my window vibrated due to yet another weft. Another loud bang. My room is literally shaking. The explosions in the distance don't stop.

The fireworks take about 30 minutes. At two o'clock in the morning: one of the dancers texts me asking if I'm ok. I confirm. He reports that all the dancers are ok and everyone has heard the explosions. He continued: "Unfortunately, that's how we've been living this way for the past year, we're used to it. We hope this ends with our victory. Then everything will be ok with us. Our air defenses are functioning fine." We end our chat with "Slava Ukraini! Geroyam Slava! Fifteen minutes later, an air raid alarm goes off. Again a number of explosions. Freaky if you know that explosive projectiles are fired at you from 100 to 200 kilometers away. Barbarism. The horrific and senseless consequences of this terror are well known.

Yesterday, Monday 03-04-2023, Odessa.

The rehearsal started late due to an air raid alarm. A new wave of Moscovite violence was feared today. A voice through the intercom of the theater reported that the work should be stopped immediately. Attendees must set themselves to safety. We descend to the bunker at the bottom. There was hardly anyone there. Every Monday is the weekly day off for all theatre employees. In the afternoon, eight dancers rehearse with me and my assistant Julia. In the large ballet hall, upstairs in the building. Of course, there is surveillance and technical staff. I don't follow the news for a while. The rehearsals take up everything. Julia sends me a card from the red alert app. In the red are areas that are expected to be ravaged by Moscovitic airstrikes today.

After the emergency alert, we can productively go through and clean scenes for several hours. In principle, all dance pieces are now performed correctly and with the right expressiveness. The short complex solo continues to need attention. Occupancy changes require adjustments. Only tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we have a few hours of rehearsal left. After more than four hours of rehearsal, everyone is well cooked. Hugs and to your room. Today I have less to say. Less writing time, a lot of other work.

To be continued.

Sunday 02-04-2023, Odessa.

On Saturday night, the electricity went out. Rather than during the day. It's like being in the clouds: since the morning again a mysterious blanket of fog over the city. Soldiers on the street at the Great Pattriottic War Memorial in front of the theatre. Warm meeting with two choreographers from Odessa, -ex ballerinas of the theatre. They rehearse a children's choreography with Odessa's ballet company for a fairytale ballet.

Op weg terug naar het hotel zie ik dat in de Pushkinskaya straat voor het Poesjkin museum het bronzen beeld van de grote dichter in houten planken is verstopt.

The Eastern European equivalent of Shakespeare and Goethe: Pushkin, recognized as one of the greatest poets in world literature. Born in the capital of Moscovia in 1799. Grew up to be small, sinewy, precocious smart and irresistible male for females, with his exotic dark skin – inherited from his great-grandfather, Ibrahim Hannibal, an Ethiopian prince who was adopted by the Great ruler Peter of Moscovia.

His impact on the residents of Odessa was so great that his bust now overlooks the boardwalk in front of Odessa's mayor's office on Primorski Boulevard. A main road is named after him. The Odessa Pushkin Museum is dedicated to him. Pushkin spoke out against the autocratic Moscovite regime and was exiled to Kishinau and Odessa.

The poet lived thirteen months in 1823 in the apartment where this museum is located. He seems to have enjoyed himself in Odessa, but the local governor was by no means happy with him. Annoyed by Pushkin's behavior, he had his post intercepted. He managed to find passages in letters that supported atheism, and thus he was able to persuade the Tsar to banish Pushkin from Odessa as well.

The museum displays original manuscripts of Pushkin's writings and a copy of a page from his masterpiece Eugene Onegin.

Pushkin published his first verses at the age of 15 and was famous before he was 20, both for his poetry and for his passion for noble women, ballerinas and prostitutes. He soon began to keep a list of his conquests and divided them into two categories, "platonic" and "sexual". His astute humor and magnetism made him the darling of the Petersburg salons, as did the fashionable young man he portrays in his great novel in verse, Eugene Onegin. The poet died in 1837 in a duel out of jealousy of his last wife with a Dutch envoy.

Next to the Pushkin museum is the pompous but also magical Bristol Hotel. Walking through the center you make a deep journey in time without prejudice. Am I living in the 21st century? Where can I access the time machine?

Also in the theatre I find myself again and again a completely different time dimension. Back to Carmina Burana: warm reunion with the dancers in the large ballet hall of the theatre. Three hours of fruitful rehearsal from 18:00. It performs excellently. And in between with humor chocolates from the Netherlands. Chocolates with eggnog. To be continued.

Saturday 01-04-2023, Odessa.

In the morning: heavy cloud showers over the Black Sea. Rehearsal in the chic foyer of the theatre with Roma, Polina, Slava and a new dancer. The theatre and the Potemkin Stairs are Odessa's most famous buildings. These enjoy an international reputation and have recently become a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the city centre.

The first opera house was opened in 1810 and destroyed by fire in 1873. The current building was built by Fellner & Helmer in (Viennese) neo-Baroque style. Opened in 1887. The architecture of the luxurious auditorium follows the late French Rococo style. The unique acoustics of the horseshoe-shaped hall allow artists to bring even a whisper-soft tone from the stage to any part of the venue. The most recent renovation of the theatre took place in 2007. Every day, even in wartime, newlyweds and "tourists" allow themselves to be photographed around and in the iconic theatre. Everyone who has been to Odessa has at least one photo with this building on it. The theatre has a huge list of prominent visitors and players from world political and cultural history.

These include Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Oistrakh, Richter, Gilels, Caruso and Chaliapin.

The passage of the pieces with Roman and Polina goes very smoothly. Beautiful dancers. Slava and his partner are also a pleasure to the eye. It feels like rehearsing at the court of Versailles. The dancers perform so well that repetition is not necessary. Very musical, detailed, fluid and expressive. Warm embraces and on to the opera rehearsal hall where four male dancers have to be rehearsed. Meanwhile, the entire building was crowded because non-stop performances are given. Even in wartime, a packed agenda. Costumed singers, dancers, musicians and technicians walk through the corridors. A colourful world. In the background singing voices and practicing instruments.

Two new dancers find themselves among a group of four that need to be trained. The quartet is starting to look like something. The solo dance still needs a lot of attention. The last part of the rehearsal is spent on a duet and solo dance by two experienced dancers from the original line-up. They are familiar with my movement style. Enough has been done today. It's raining outside. Back to the hotel. When I get some food in the supermarket in the evening, I see that the youth of Odessa has taken over the center. The weekend beckons. Of course, like everywhere else, they want to go out carefree.

I did not observe an air raid alarm today. However, appearances can be deceiving. Yesterday I didn't think I noticed an air raid alarm, but it turned out that there had been two according to different, independent witnesses. Tomorrow a reunion with two choreographers from Odessa. Last autumn I worked with them on a full-length Romanian production. And a first rehearsal in the evening with all the male and female dancers of Carmina Burana together. Military transports through the street again tonight.

To be continued.

Friday 31-03-2023, Odessa.

Day without air raid alarm. Morning rehearsal with the choir on stage. Part of the old choir has fled abroad. Now a lot of new, young singers. Beautiful faces. Professionals who know what they are doing. I meet the chief conductor of the theatre, a Belarus. Warm reunion. The man joins us on tour. Former chief employee of the Bolshoi Theatre in Minsk. No longer welcome in his country. "There's a madman in power there". A firm, emotional embrace and sense of solidarity through an understanding gaze. "The tempi will be adapted to the speed of the ballet's choreography", he assures me.

Step by step, all choir scenes are walked through and cleaned. The intentions briefly touched upon. Advantage of little rehearsal time: this drives you to extreme alertness so that you start well prepared and try to achieve results more efficiently under time pressure every minute. There is a serious, exciting atmosphere in which people listen with concentration. At the end of the rehearsal there is a walk-through of the piece. You can see and hear that everyone knows what they are doing. Beautiful voices. The choirmaster is also satisfied.

Lunch in a Ukrainian buffet on Katerinskaya street. The local dishes show colorful and tasty. I recognize Chicken Kiev, borsh, vareniki, deruni, okroshka, kholodet, blini, salads and beautiful pastries. During the meal, two gypsy girls and mother stumble into the restaurant. They beg. I dig into my pockets and give them a note of grivnas. As a migrant child, I was raised with understanding and respect for the underprivileged and migrants. The hardships of my ancestors are having an effect.

Outside, the streets are shrouded in a mysterious fog. After a short rest in the hotel room, there is a rehearsal in the large ballet studio of the theater. In an hour, two new ballet boys learn a complex one-minute solo choreography. They are musical and suck up the information. From now on, they will have to perform this dance fully every day to develop endurance and precision.

At night, military vehicles drive over children's heads. Then again silent.

Two dance rehearsals tomorrow. For the first time in the opera studio of the theatre. To be continued.

Thursday 30-03-2023, Odessa.

In the basement of the theatre there is an air raid shelter. Can accommodate exactly a thousand people. Useful on a day like today with two air raid alarms. The roaring signal obliges the theatre staff to dive into the bunker immediately. The deputy director of the theatre told me yesterday that a musical theatre performance will soon be performed in the same bomb shelter.

From the morning I also work undisturbed on a notebook in my hotel room during the distress signal on the production tasks that an impresariat entails. I would have preferred that time to be able to rehearse the choreography. After the last siren, I have breakfast in a café and study a wall of political posters. At that point, no more alarms.

On the street, a flutist plays the same tune over and over again. There is a palpable tension in the air. Even if it seems the opposite when you see Odessites strolling outside in the spring sun. Around the theater and around the corner, Deribasovskaya Street. Or the Kalverstraat or the Oxford Street of Odessa. Named after the Spanish officer in Russian service who captured Odessa from the Turks. You can rent a pony to let your child chat from one side to the other over the cobblestones of the street. A few cartoon characters sell hot air balloons and the bright sunlight attracts a lot of people into the street. The terraces fill up. A little money is made.

In the afternoon a coffee with the director of the Schouwburg before the rehearsals take place. About the war. About confirming our sustainable cooperation, exchanging plans for the future. And the request if I would like to be an artistic associate of the theater. Just before Covid-19, Carmina Burana premiered in Odessa. Its creation also suffered from a chronic lack of rehearsal time. A different approach than traditional classical requires more attention.

The evening in Odessa center is very quiet. Tomorrow a rehearsal with the choir. To be continued.

Wednesday 29-03-2023, Odessa.

Tsarina Catherine the Great, foundress of the majestic, cosmopolitan port city. This beleaguered lady recently pulled from her pedestal and ended up in a museum. Where until recently her stately bronze overlooked the city, a proud, Blue-Yellow flag now flies.

Nearby, I spoke to a young soldier. He guards Primorski Boulevard on a cliff on the Black Sea overlooking the quay. Due to shelling, this beloved promenade is inaccessible to the public and closed with tank barriers and crowd barriers. Photos are not allowed to be taken there. I told him that I lived in the Voronski apartments next door for several periods. From there it passes the Duke de Richelieu monument, now fully packed, past the Potemkin steps and the bust of Pushkin only a few minutes on foot to the artist's entrance of the Theatre.

No air raid alarm and no failure of electricity and water. A touching reunion with the dancers of the Odessa Theatre. The first rehearsal is already over. As with the creation process, unfortunately, again with far too little time available. As for time: Martial law: between midnight and five o'clock in the morning it is forbidden to be outside on the street. Many shops are closed but supermarkets are open until 22:00.

And then this afternoon a phone call from the Netherlands: Carmina Burana is sold out in Leeuwarden, Amersfoort, Alphen aan den Rijn and Gouda. Now only tickets available in Maastricht, Sittard and Rotterdam for those who want to come and experience it. But at the moment, here in Odessa, the occupation changes and choreography have to be solved. To be continued.