The Ukrainian ballet dancers waiting for a call to war

Dancers from the Ukrainian Freedom Ballet company have been dreaming of performing at the Edinburgh Festivals for several years.

When they booked their slot three months ago, the company's male performers had to be given special dispensation from Ukraine's culture minister to travel.

Most men have been banned from leaving the country during the five-month long conflict with Russia.

Pavlo and Igor are among those who will return to war duties at the end of the month.

"It's like a joke we're here," said Igor. "Because every year in summer we have so much work in Ukraine – a lot of projects, big shows – so this year it's not a good reason we cannot work in Ukraine, so we decided to be here."

Due to the closure of Ukraine's skies, it took the 14-strong company from Kyiv three days to travel to the UK.

Many of the dancers' loved ones are spread around Europe having fled Russian attacks – though Igor's family made it to Edinburgh to watch him perform.

He said: "I'm really thankful for the Scottish government and the UK for having us here. I can't stay, we have duties in Ukraine and we are waiting for our call for war so it's not so fine.

"We're here to represent Ukraine, to shout about the war, to show the world we can do our work, our art, our shows, to describe our feelings."

Both men have been dancers for about eight years, having joined the company at the same time.

During their festival stint, they will be performing an adaptation of their hit show Boudoir, a series of stories driven by sex and violence that all revolve around a giant wardrobe.

According to its director, the troupe is famous back home in Ukraine – so they hope the show will be just as popular with an international audience.

"It's also a premiere for our wardrobe," added Igor. "This performance is five years old but the wardrobe was designed specially for coming here."

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe will see more than 3,000 shows from 58 countries mark its 75th anniversary.

It is the festival's first full programme of events since 2019 – and the potential impact of performing on this special year is not lost on the Ukrainians.

Pavlo said: "We've heard a lot about this festival. We have a manager who tried to bring us here many times but for some reason we could not. We've waited so long, it's great to be here.

"We are talking a lot about the war in Ukraine but it is a big step for our ballet. Today we still cannot believe we're here, to show our performance and also to be the voice of Ukraine."

Freedom Ballet will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 28 August.