Alexander and Iryna owe their marriage, in a way, to Turkey. The dancer couple first met in this country in 2014, while both were temporarily working in a dance troupe. Years later, a cruel twist of fate put their lives in disarray and took them to Turkey, for a different reason. The Ukrainian husband and wife were with the Turkish dance troupe Anadolu Ateşi (Fire of Anatolia) this week, but this time, to find a place to stay. As the war broke out in their country, Alexander and Iryna Balakhonova could not find anywhere to go and decided to move back to Turkey where they once lived. To their joy, they found temporary shelter in the backstage of an open-air dance hall used by the troupe in the southern Turkish province of Antalya.
With their two children, the couple made a small abode for themselves in an unused section of the backstage and spend their free time in the center stage of Aspendos Arena where the troupe performs.
The family was living in Mykolaiv, a Black Sea port city, when the Russia-Ukraine war erupted. Fearing for their lives, they spent three days in a shelter and sought a way out of the war-torn country. They had lived for a while in Turkey before settling in their homeland Ukraine in 2017 and thought it was best to return there. They contacted fellow dancers from Anadolu Ateşi and the troupe invited them to Antalya, to their performance venue near the eponymous ancient theater. Accompanied by Iryna's mother Galyna Dziuba, they hit the road. For six days, they drove along a route of about 2,300 kilometers (1,429 miles), through Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria and finally, Turkey. In the performance venue, they created a living space for themselves. Iryna's mother teaches the couple's school-age son who was forced to drop out of school due to the war, while Iryna and Alexander rehearse regularly in the arena for their future performances.
"It was 5 in the morning when our house (in Ukraine) rocked. I knew (a war) was imminent but I couldn't grasp it at first yet. I was very scared," Iryna said recalling their time in Ukraine. "I was worried about my children. Bombs fell near our house. I called my friends in Anadolu Ateşi and they invited us here," she added. "It has been a difficult journey and it was much more difficult to be forced to leave my home but I had to do something to protect my children," she said. Balakhonova said they were grateful to Mustafa Erdoğan, the founder and art director of the troupe for giving them a place to stay.
Alexander said he danced on the very stage he is now dancing with his wife years ago. An ethnic Russian, he said he never had any problems in Ukraine where he had a job, a home and a family. "I hope this war, the bombings will end, at least for the sake of our children," he said. Galyna Dziuba said she has been teaching children about wars as a history teacher in Ukraine and now she has seen it firsthand. "For me, the war is leaving your home, your country," she explained.
Mustafa Erdoğan said they were happy to have the couple "safe and sound." "We had Ukrainian and Russian dancers in the past, sharing the same stage and we will have more in the future. The wars are between states and politicians but the suffering is left for the people. I think performing arts are a strong form of moral solidarity," he said. Erdoğan, whose troupe reached fame with an eclectic mix of dances from different parts of Turkey, said they set out to demonstrate "peace among different civilizations" and hosting the couple fleeing from war was "an example of this."