With the advisory programme Tanzдіалог for dance professionals at risk, Tanzbüro Berlin responded to ongoing enquiries from dancers and choreographers who had fled Ukraine. The aim of the initiative was to provide intensive consultation, exchange, and networking opportunities for dance professionals at risk.

As part of this effort, an exchange platform for Berlin’s Ukrainian dance community was created, initiated by the Ukrainian production manager and journalist Polina Bulat. Through a series of events, Ukrainian dance professionals were invited to reflect on their professional realities in a peer-to-peer format and to share their individual ways of navigating the situation.

Polina Bulat spoke with four participants of the Tanzдіалог workshops.

 

 

Viktoriia Yerchyk
 

None of you left Ukraine voluntarily. How did you end up in Berlin?
 

I was 19 when the full-scale war started. The level of stress I felt was something I couldn’t process. The first year felt unreal, like a game. Total dissociation. I came to Berlin for two weeks and stayed for four years.
 

What, for you, are the main contrasts and similarities between the dance scene/community in your city in Ukraine and here in Berlin?
 

In Ukraine, the dance scene is closely connected to commercial work. Production is affordable, so many European artists and brands collaborate with Ukrainian teams. Commercial doesn’t mean superficial, it’s artistic, bold, and high-level. I grew up working on music videos and campaigns, which shaped me fast.

In Berlin, the scene is fragmented and diverse: not one community, but many micro-ecosystems. That diversity gave me a choice early in my career. I moved toward movement direction, developed myself in fashion, trained alone, and searched for my own handwriting. I built connections through social media by posting studies and improvisations, the most accessible way to share my vision and find my people.
 

How has your vision of a career in dance and of yourself within it changed during your years in Berlin?
 

My migration happened while I was still forming myself, so my understanding of dance shifted completely and still continues to do so. In Kyiv, I focused on technique and worked as a professional dancer. Now I see myself as an artist and an author, I want to stage movement in gallery spaces, create performances and installations, and direct movement in fashion. I still perform, but I don’t want to be limited to performing only.
 

What challenges have you faced during your time in Berlin? What do you think could help overcome them?
 

The biggest challenge has been mental. Migration takes more time and energy than expected, every meeting and event is an effort. You need connections to grow, but when you’re unstable, making them feels impossible. What helps is routine, sport, therapy, patience, and letting go of the idea that everything should happen fast. Structurally these could be: more bridges between migrant and local artists, less gatekeeping, and mental health support within cultural systems.
 

What inspired you to take part in the DanceДіалог workshop by Tanzbüro? What did you take away from it?
 

It helped me understand the ecosystem instead of surviving in it blindly. I gained clarity, support, real contacts and guidance I didn’t have before.
 

In your opinion, what could the Berlin and Ukrainian dance communities learn from each other?
 

Berlin could learn urgency. Ukraine could learn sustainable structures.
 

What are your closest professional plans? And do you have a dream project you would like to share with the readers?
 

I’m looking for further education to expand my vision and deepen my practice. I want a structured student life: to study, fail safely, and grow within a framework.

At the same time, I’m developing my own dream project for which I’m seeking funding. It’s a performance-based work where the body negotiates constraint, pressure and adaptation. It grows directly from my experience of exile and survival. Not a spectacle but a situation. Something that exposes how freedom is negotiated, not given.
 

Mariia Yakobchuk
 

None of you left Ukraine voluntarily. How did you end up in Berlin?
 

I lived in a district of Kyiv that was attacked from the very first day of the invasion. After the first night in a shelter, my mother and I left for a village where our relatives live, afraid of occupation, and spent a week hiding in the basement almost every night because of constant explosions. When the oil depot in Vasylkiv, about 10–15 kilometres from us, was hit, we decided to evacuate west. A ten-hour drive that took four days as we avoided active fighting, searched for fuel, and stayed with friends along the way. After two weeks in the Carpathians, my mother returned to Kyiv for work, while I left with my friend Dayana, taking a bus to Poland and an evacuation train from Kraków to Berlin. At the border, we were asked to leave the train and board buses without knowing their destination. It was the moment I fully understood the scale of what was happening, and we were fortunate to have friends waiting for us in Berlin.
 

How has your vision of a career in dance and of yourself within it changed during your years in Berlin?
 

Looking back, I realize that I was deprived of any form of belonging except vulnerability and national identity. From that moment on, in order to grow professionally, I first had to psychologically return to the position of a full-fledged personality with complete rights. Only then was it possible to build a growth plan within my own career. That is where I am now.

I am grateful to myself for every career attempt I have made over the past four years. Overall, a lot has been accomplished. Each subsequent step was taken without confidence in the future. Now I have a healthier and more mature version of myself from which to build my resume.
 

What inspired you to take part in the DanceДіалог workshop by Tanzbüro? What did you take away from it?
 

My endlessly proactive friend Viktoriia brought me to Tanzbüro. Thanks to her, I have this wake-up call now.

The most crucial aspect, apart from a structured explanation of Berlin art funding, was another illustration of the implementation of art into German society. The constitutional evidence was not new to me, but still surprising each time: a small but great reminder that the audience does not have to be niche or privileged, and the author does not have to be starving.
 

In your opinion, what could the Berlin and Ukrainian dance communities learn from each other?
 

In Berlin, I sometimes feel that the work could gain in precision if there were a stronger sense of necessity behind each piece, something we often experience in Kyiv. At the same time, artists in Berlin benefit from working within a system where labour rights are protected by stable laws. While Kyiv can offer valuable experience in working with urgency and commitment, it would also benefit from conditions in which artistic labour is insured, fairly paid, and recognised as socially valuable.
 

What are your closest professional plans? And do you have a dream project you would like to share with the readers?
 

I am interested in placing my dance practice within fashion and image-making contexts. At the same time, I am developing an international modeling career as a pragmatic way to support further, self-directed education in dance and, later on, in cinema.

My long-term focus is dance film, working as a director. This format allows me to combine movement, image, rhythm and narrative within one practice.

I am currently developing the script for a short film in collaboration with a British video editor, whose name I cannot yet disclose. Filming may take place in summer 2026. What matters to me is a transmission of lived experience through the body, with an exaggeration or symbolic overstatement.
 

Anton Ruslanovych
 

None of you left Ukraine voluntarily. How did you end up in Berlin?
 

I was living in Bucha when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, and from the very first moments I was confronted with the realities of war. We left our home and went to stay with my grandparents in western Ukraine, without any real sense of what would come next. I was 18 at the time and realised that if I wanted to continue dancing, I needed to leave the country. A person I knew in Berlin offered to host me for two weeks, and since much of the Ukrainian dance community had gathered there by then, it was enough for me to make the decision.

The German government quickly built a system effectively providing support and securing Ukrainian refugees, which helped me to stay in Berlin with better chances to establish myself.
 

What, for you, are the main contrasts and similarities between the dance scene/community in your city in Ukraine and here in Berlin?
 

The Ukrainian dance field is strongly connected to commercial, show, and film industries, which allowed local dancers to work on major projects. In contrast, the Berlin scene is more complex, publicly supported, and open to personal artistic research. Organisations like Tanzbüro help me navigate unfamiliar areas such as funding and residency systems.
 

How has your vision of a career in dance and of yourself within it changed during your years in Berlin?
 

My general perspective on my dancing career and self-image within the dance industry has become much wider and more open to unexpected opportunities. I feel an intense dynamic moving forward, exploring my artistic boundaries and the specifics of my movement as a medium, and how I can engage it in diverse dance, performative and visual projects. Rather than thinking about what box I should put myself in, I’m allowing myself to explore and discover my potential as an artist through different resources and platforms for creation.
 

What challenges have you faced during your time in Berlin? What do you think could help overcome them?
 

There are many challenges I have faced, mostly related to learning how to live as an “adult” in a foreign country. Lack of money, security, connections and understanding of how to navigate yourself in such a crisis situation leads to a lack of professional practice, study and opportunities to present yourself in order to get work. I’m on my way towards finding security while being able to constantly improve my qualifications.
 

What inspired you to take part in the DanceДіалог workshop by Tanzbüro? What did you take away from it?
 

I desired answers and additional tools that could help me to understand the Berlin dance industry and build new possible strategies. I also felt isolated and wanted to find a community I could collaborate and have discussions with.
 

In your opinion, what could the Berlin and Ukrainian dance communities learn from each other?
 

I wish Ukraine would learn government support systems for artists of all kinds. Berlin, I wish, would be structurally simpler.
 

What are your closest professional plans? And do you have a dream project you would like to share with the readers?
 

I want to strongly introduce myself to the theatrical field as a performer this year, learn its specifics, and gain more experience. I will continue working as a movement artist in different fluids and establish myself as an independent movement artist able to shapeshift and bring my vision into multidisciplinary environments. Every project of mine is a dream project.
 

Mariia Lytvynenko
 

None of you left Ukraine voluntarily. How did you end up in Berlin?
 

I came to Berlin with my family. My parents' friends were already here, which made the decision to move much easier. In addition, my parents are doctors, and here they had the opportunity to quickly find work in their field. We knew that Germany has one of the strongest healthcare systems in Europe, so they could continue their careers here. It was a practical and, at the same time, a necessary choice.
 

What, for you, are the main contrasts and similarities between the dance scene/community in your city in Ukraine and here in Berlin?
 

The main difference for me is how dance is perceived. In Ukraine, dance is seen more as an industry: there are many commercial projects, collaborations with artists, and work in show business. It's a very practical and applied approach.
AnkerIn Berlin, dance is perceived more as an art form. Ballet and contemporary dance are well developed here, with a lot of freestyle, experimentation and movement research. There is less commerce, but more artistic exploration.
AnkerThe similarity is that both environments have strong professionals and people who are truly dedicated to their craft. It's just that the focus is different.
 

How has your vision of a career in dance and of yourself within it changed during your years in Berlin?
 

My stay in Berlin changed my attitude toward competition and community. In Ukraine, I felt that you had to constantly prove that you were better than others in order to get a job or participate in an important project. The competition was very intense.
In Berlin I saw a different approach: more support, openness and cooperation. The community plays a huge role here. People are more willing to share opportunities and support each other, and this changes how I feel about myself as a dancer. I started to think more not only about my own success, but also about our collective development.
 

What inspired you to take part in the DanceДіалог workshop by Tanzbüro? What did you take away from it?
 

I was interested in the workshop on funding. I am currently at a stage where I want to create AnkerAnkerAnkerAnkerAnkerAnkermy own projects, and it is important for me to learn how to attract funding not only from my own resources. I want to be able to work at a professional level: rent a venue, work with a camera and a team and create a high-quality video product.
AnkerFrom the workshop, I gained an understanding of the structure of grant applications and the realization that funding is not something unattainable, but a process that can be learned and mastered.
 

What are your closest professional plans? And do you have a dream project you would like to share with the readers?
 

In the near future, I want to focus on developing my own projects and my own vision. I want to combine the role of a dancer with participation in production: to create projects that take dance to a new level of perception through a concept, high-quality filming and a well-thought-out visual language.
I am interested in working at the intersection of dance and video: my dream project is a dance film or a series of video works where movement, camera and story work as a whole.
 

Veröffentlicht in May 2026. Initiated by Polina Bulat.