Ukraine war: How ballroom dancing helped children settle in UK

A Ukrainian family who live with MP Yvette Cooper and her husband Ed Balls have revealed how a love of ballroom dancing helped them settle in the UK.

Yeva Drozhzhyna, 12, and her mother Katerina came from near Kyiv to Castleford, West Yorkshire, where their sponsor Ms Cooper is the Labour MP.

Mrs Drozhzhyna said dancing helped Yeva keep some normality in her life.

Ms Cooper said Mr Balls - who appeared on BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, had been "offering a few tips" of his own.

"She really hasn't been convinced!" she added.

Yeva's friend Zakhar Postupailo, 10, also relocated to Yorkshire and lives round the corner with his mother Yana.

The pair, who have been dance partners since 2017, now practise together regularly and have performed in Blackpool at the Tower Ballroom, which Mrs Drozhzhyna said had always been their dream.

"Before the war we planned to compete in Blackpool, it was a goal that we planned to do, and that is why maybe we chose to relocate to the UK as Blackpool is here and it is the centre of ballroom dancing.

"Back home they would usually have lessons every day, but when we first relocated to Hungary and we couldn't practise, it was stressful for everybody, especially for kids.

"Dancing kept them in a normal life and was an important connection with their past."

Zakhar said ballroom dancing was a big part of his life.

"For some people it is a hobby, but for me it is a part of my life so it makes me fun, and more energetic," he said.

Ms Cooper said she met Katerina and Yeva after a meeting with a Ukrainian dancer at a fundraising event - the Rob Burrow Strictly Ball - led her to sponsoring the pair and welcoming them into her home.

She said: "It is great having them stay with us, but it's so awful that they are separated from their families as a result of the illegal war.

"It's amazing watching the dancing, it is so incredible, it's so important to be able to keep going with something that is a normal part of their lives.

"To see them carry on and do something so important to them is really moving."

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