The show must go on...

Snow White ballet staged deep underground close to 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... against the backdrop of an air raid warning.

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

The alert, which started before the performance and remained in place when it began, was a reminder war is close in northeast Ukraine.

Nearly four years on from the Kremlin'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; it lets audiences forget, at least for a while.

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.

The English teacher says: "I'm very impressed. It was very, very beautiful, the costumes, music, dancers. It was stunning, marvellous.