Ukrainians in Illinois call on Joffrey Ballet to cancel ‘Eugene Onegin’ performance

The Ukrainian community in Illinois is urging the Joffrey Ballet to cancel its planned June 2026 performance of “Eugene Onegin,” based on the novel and verse by Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and composed by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. 

This call comes from Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) Illinois Division.

“At a time when Ukrainian culture is being deliberately destroyed – its theaters bombed, its artists displaced, its children killed or abducted – featuring canonical Russian works on major stages inadvertently sends a message of cultural neutrality in the face of atrocity,” the UCCA Illinois division’s community’s statement reads.

The appeal has also received support from the Baltic and Polish communities in the state.

“To Ukrainian-Americans, Baltic-Americans, Polish-Americans, and all those who stand with Ukraine, this is not just a question of programming. It is a matter of moral clarity,” the statement reads.

The UCCA stresses that art is never separate from its context.

“Presenting Russian works such as Evgeniy Onegin or Anna Karenina [performed by the Joffrey Ballet in 2023] – even classical and widely loved – can inadvertently legitimize a regime that continues to use culture as a weapon of propaganda,” the statement reads.

What might be seen as just a ballet performance by some feels to many in the community like a symbol of imperial aggression and the silencing of oppressed voices.

“We respectfully urge the Joffrey Ballet to postpone this production until peace is restored and Ukraine’s sovereignty is secured. This would be a meaningful act of solidarity – showing that the arts stand not just for beauty, but for human dignity and justice,” the statement reads.

In Sweden, the Ukrainian community investigated alleged ties between the “Ballet of Ukraine” and Russia, even before an official inquiry was initiated by the country’s public broadcaster.