Ukrainian and Russian Dancers Join Onstage (in Italy) to Fundraise for the Red Cross

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As atrocities mount in Ukraine and global leaders languish in gridlocked debates over sanctions against Russia, artists are finding more personal ways to fundraise for action.

Ballerinas from both countries convened in Italy this week to drum up donations for the Red Cross. Among them are Russians Maria Yakovleva and Olga Smirnova, who quit the Bolshoi Ballet in protest of the Kremlin’s invasion, and Ukrainians Anastasia Gurskaya and Denys Cherevychko, who fled the war.

The result, Stand With Ukraine: Ballet for Peace, is a powerful staging. It came to my attention yesterday when my colleague Cathy Asmus shared this three-minute video. While the performance won’t stop Russia’s madness, it will help raise sorely needed funds for those who can. Catch Cathy’s own thoughts on dance, one and two, after watching below:

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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