Dear Peridance Team,

The International Movement Arts Against Aggression is a global network of artists, cultural workers, scholars, activists, and institutions advocating for ethical responsibility in the cultural sphere and opposing the use of art and culture to legitimize aggression, authoritarianism, and imperial domination.

Since 2014, Arts Against Aggression has fought against Russian cultural propaganda in the U.S. and Europe, successfully preventing Putin’s artists from performing in the West.

We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the scheduled guest class by Bolshoi Ballet dancer Ana Turazashvili on August 14 at Peridance New York’s Premier  Dance Center.

The Bolshoi Ballet is not merely an artistic institution; it is a state-funded arm of the Kremlin, serving as a primary instrument of Russian cultural propaganda. Ana Turazashvili is an active representative of this institution. Notably, her performances in occupied Crimea violate both Ukrainian law and American sanctions, directly aligning her with the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Ana Turazashvili is leveraging her social media to sanitize the image of the Russian regime. By wrapping state-aligned narratives in the prestige of ballet, she isn’t just an ambassador for the arts—she is an influencer for Putin. Her content serves to normalize Russia and obscure its aggression, effectively rebranding a hostile state as a friendly cultural partner for American audiences.

By hosting Ana Turazashvili, Peridance provides a platform that will inevitably be used to legitimize Russia’s cultural and political agenda. As Ukrainian artists continue to face the daily horrors of war—with many of your colleagues killed or fighting for their survival—it is fundamentally wrong to welcome a representative of the very state inflicting this suffering. By doing so, you become an unwitting accomplice to the war crimes of the Russian regime.

We urge you to reconsider this invitation in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the global community standing against this war of aggression.

-Arts Against Aggression