In Ukraine, "we will even sing on our knees" : in the kyiv metro, traditional songs and dances to ward off war
Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
Dancing, despite the war. In Ukraine, for years, elderly residents of kyiv have met every weekend in a large corridor of the metro to share traditional dances. And this habit continues. Even though the group has been reduced since the start of the Russian invasion, the music is still there.
Olena, 71, her beautiful Ukrainian scarf with colorful flowers on her shoulders, twirls in the vast metro corridor. “I love dancing. Dancing is my life. It nourishes me. I’ve been coming here continuously since 2002, that’s 22 years!”she says cheerfully. And the war did not change this appointment. “We cannot lock ourselves away, life goes on. My son-in-law has been at the front, since the first day, he has been protecting our dear Ukraine. But what can I do? I dance, it makes me feel better. gives strength. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”she testifies. His brother Nikolai, 86, is also there, proud in his costume, spinning to a folk tune.
Ihor is one of the musicians. He plays the accordion. That evening, he played for his son, who died at the front last summer. “I was finally able to bury him. He is in heaven. He had been missing for months. He is my hero. I am proud to have such a son”, he confides. Svetlana, she has a tambourine in her hand, and she is the one singing. “Before the war, there were almost 200 people who came there. And there were so many musicians that people were lining up to play. It was joyful. We were like a family. Now, you see, with the war… there are those who left. Those who died.”
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