Beloved dancer’s death on Ukraine battlefield underscores cost of war
Shapoval’s case is particularly poignant, because after a 28-year career onstage, and with no military training, he volunteered in April to help defend his country. As a member of the National Opera of Ukraine, he had danced the part of gallant romantics and dashing adventurers, and he’d earned the prestigious title Honored Artist of Ukraine. Shapoval retired in 2021 and was teaching at the Kyiv State Choreographic College when the Russians invaded in February.
Shapoval’s decision to enlist, when he could have remained in Kyiv, came as a shock, said ballerina Yuliia Moskalenko, 29, who danced with Shapoval at the national ballet.“But I was also really proud of him,” Moskalenko said in an interview Thursday from Miami, where she recently joined Miami City Ballet. “Proud that he’s so brave and he went to fight for the independence of our country.
Moskalenko said she sees Shapoval’s sacrifice as a double tragedy: for his family — his wife, 22-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter — and for the nation and its culture. More than that, she said, “he was an incredible person. Everybody loved him. He was very kind, with a pure and bright soul. He was helpful with anything. If you want to try something new by yourself in the studio, he tried to help you, he tried to teach you. He spent his time to help you.”