Snow must go on..

CITY STAGES BALLET DESPITE BEING NEAR UKRAINE'S FRONT LINE

- by SIMON MURPHY

AS Snow White glides across the stage, it could be a scene enjoyed by children in almost any theatre.

But these youngsters are watching ballet deep underground near Ukraine's front line and against the backdrop of an air raid warning.

Yet the show must go on and they are safe in the depths of Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Nearly four years on from Russia's full-scale invasion, life and culture has somehow found a way to survive in the city of Kharkiv.

Less than 20 miles south of Ukraine's border with Russia, people face the constant terror of attacks. But this theatre offers sanctuary to those weary of war.

We visited a weekend ballet performance of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, a magical spectacle that held the audience spellbound.

Darya Syrova, 35, took her beaming daughter Vasilisa, five, to enjoy her first ballet show at the theatre.