HOW DO YOU DANCE IN A WAR ZONE?
by Maria Falconer & Paul Hill
In the midst of a war that has reshaped lives, landscapes, and the very rhythm of existence, Ukrainian dancers find a way to move, to express, and to survive. "How Do You Dance in a War Zone?" is a powerful exploration of movement amidst conflict, a collaboration between photographers Paul Hill and Maria Falconer, and dancers in Kyiv and Lviv. Through intimate portraits of these performers, we witness how dance becomes a visceral response to the ongoing Russian invasion—a means to process trauma, defy violence, and express resilience.
This exhibition captures moments where the boundaries between art and survival blur. We see dancers rehearsing in their minds before stepping into the rawness of reality, where performances unfold in bomb shelters, on stages, or in fields where the echo of missiles still lingers. Their movements are at once metaphors and literal expressions of life in a war zone, reflecting the profound psychological and emotional impacts of the conflict.
Through still images and video, the project also highlights unexpected connections: dancers teaching soldiers how to move, soldiers teaching dancers how to defend themselves. These collaborations emphasise the deep integration of the civilian population with the military in Ukraine, revealing a nation unified in defiance and determination.
"How Do You Dance in a War Zone?" is not a documentation of war; it is a personal and creative response to the question of how art, movement, and humanity endure in the face of destruction. As Viktor Raban, one of the project's collaborators, urged: this is a visual artwork, not a documentary or propaganda—an expression of resilience and resistance through the universal language of dance.
How do you dance in a War Zone? opened the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 at the National Centre for Dance and has since been exhibited in the National Art Museum of Ukraine (Kyiv), Wirksworth and Ashbourne Art Festivals in Derbyshire, the Hnat Khotkevych Palace of Culture, Lviv and Vie Theatre-Lab, Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine.
