Ms. Smirnova revealed a prolonged put up this month to Telegram, the messaging app fashionable in Russia, during which she mentioned she opposed the conflict “with all of the fibers of my soul.” Certainly one of her grandfathers was Ukrainian, she mentioned, however insisted that was not the only cause for her opposition. “I by no means thought I’d be ashamed of Russia,” she mentioned, including, “We will not be on the epicenter of the army battle, however we can not stay detached to this international disaster.”
A spokeswoman for the Bolshoi, which nonetheless lists Ms. Smirnova amongst its dancers on its web site, mentioned it had no touch upon her departure, besides to substantiate that it was a private choice.
Ms. Smirnova is certainly one of numerous dancers who’ve left, no less than quickly, the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Ballet, Russia’s different main firm, because the invasion of Ukraine started. However most of these different dancers, together with the Italian Jacopo Tissi, the Brazilian David Motta Soares and the British dancer Xander Parish, haven’t been Russian.
In an interview from Tallinn, Estonia, final week, Mr. Parish, who dances for the Mariinsky, instructed The Sunday Occasions, a British newspaper, that he supposed to give attention to worldwide visitor appearances for the subsequent few months. “It’s laborious to think about not with the ability to return, however I simply must maintain optimistic and search for alternatives,” he mentioned.
On Wednesday, the Dutch Nationwide Ballet mentioned that Victor Caixeta, a Brazilian soloist on the Mariinsky Ballet, had additionally joined the corporate. “The present circumstances have meant I’ve needed to make the laborious choice of leaving Russia — the place I’ve known as house for nearly 5 years,” Mr. Caixeta mentioned in an announcement.