The Russian Ballet Theatre stages a performance of Swan Lake Friday night at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, and the ballet's producer says people may have the wrong impression about them.
Gulya Hartwick told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News that they are an independent theatre company with no connection with the Russian government.
"Yes, people jump to conclusions saying the word 'Russian,' thinking that word is the enemy," Hartwick said. "It also causes so much pain, because it's now associated with pain."
The ballet features 42 dancers from nine countries, including Russia and Ukraine.
"I personally don't think that (the) culture of millions and millions of people can be responsible for what is done and what is being done by the small group of monsters," she said.
For the rest of their tour, the group is eliminating the word "Russian" from their title, and will instead be called the RBT Ballet Theatre.
"To remove the painful 'Russian' word, that's also our message to the world, we want peace," Hartwick said.