Joffrey Ballet Faces Backlash For Its Upcoming Production

'Anna Karenina' will run at the Lyric Opera of Chicago from Feb. 15 to the 26, and Ukrainian-Americans have expressed their outrage on social media.

The Joffrey Ballet is facing extreme backlash ahead of one of its upcoming productions.

On January 30, the dance company shared a Facebook post announcing the upcoming production of Anna Karenina—choreographed by Russian ballet choreographer, Yuri Possokhov, and based on the literary classic of the same name by Russian author Leo Tolstoy—running at the Lyric Opera of Chicago from Feb. 15 to the 26.

However, the post was not positively received, particularly by the Ukrainian-American community, who took to the comment section to call out the renowned dance company for consciously choosing to promote a Russian-inspired ballet amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The hashtag “Russia is a terrorist state” appeared in many of the comments under the post, along with scathing responses such as, “It looks like you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, but at least try to read the room.”

One Facebook user called the production “disgusting and tone deaf,” as others suggested that this is not the time to support Russian culture.

Yet another explained that “pretending that it is a 'neutral' thing and continuing to support it regardless of the full-scale invasion” is equivalent to enabling the war, while also encouraging the company to support “Ukrainian authors” and give platforms to “Ukrainians (and other victims of russian aggression) to tell their side of the story,” instead.

Another wrote, “What a disgusting step to come up with supporting russian ballet when one of the greatest Ukrainian ballet dancers Oleksandr Shapoval was killed by russians this September!” with another  echoing the sentiment, noting, “russia has blood of innocent people on its hands, including dancers. this is a shame to promote their culture at this time.”

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“While Ukrainian ballet dancers are being killed by russians The Joffrey Ballet is preparing their stage for russian ballet in Chicago,” another chimed in.

Ukrainian ballet dancer Oleksandr Shapoval was killed on the battlefield, according to the National Opera of Ukraine, where he was a dancer, after volunteering to fight for his country following the Russian invasion, per NPR.

There was similar outrage in the comments on several Instagram posts shared by the company to promote the show, with one user pointing out that the production's February run also seems to coincide—possibly unintentionally—with the one year anniversary of the invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, and that seemingly has no end in sight.

Reuters has been keeping a running tally of the destruction since the war began last year, noting that as of Feb. 8, 2023, at least 42,000 people have died, about 15,000 people are missing, 14 million have been displaced, and at least 140,000 buildings have been destroyed with property damage culminating to approximately $350 billion.

Anna Karenina, published by Tolstoy in 1877, centers on an extramarital affair between the titular character and dashing cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky.

Per Joffrey's description, “Set in the late 19th century of Imperial Russia, Possokhov’s immersive adaptation—winner of the 2019 “Oscars of Dance” Benois de la Danse International Prize for Best Choreography—returns to the Joffrey for the first time since its successful world premiere in 2019. This blockbuster ballet, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, features an original composition by award-winning composer Ilya Demutsky, costumes and sets by Emmy-Award-winning designer Tom Pye, and lighting by famed designer David Finn.”

According to RefugeeOne, Chicago is home to the second largest Ukrainian community in the U.S., next to New York, and has provided shelter to the many refugees who have been forced from their homes and displaced due to the war. Per ABC7, it's estimated around 200,000 Ukrainian Americans live in Illinois, with more than 50,000 of them living in Chicago.

The Joffrey Ballet has not responded to any of the comments on either Facebook or Instagram. Parade reached out to the famed dance company for a statement.