\u201cPack the most necessary things, charge your phones and power banks. Use this map of bomb shelters or come to the club. Together we are strong!\u201d These were the first words in our work chat on the morning of 24 February 2022.<\/p>\n
“At the time, our team consisted of about 200 people. Soon the old brewery, which had withstood two world wars, was turned into a 24\/7 shelter where hundreds of people found refuge from Russian shelling until the liberation of the Kyiv region in April 2022. The words \u201csafe space\u201d took on a new, literal meaning.”<\/p>\n
“In the summer, the club opened its doors again. It was clear to us that people needed a space to feel unity, rest from the hard days of volunteering, recharge after returning from the front line, dance to their favourite artists, and, most importantly, live the life that the terrorist state wishes to rob them of. Even after shelling by Russian missiles \u2013 especially after shelling by Russian missiles! When you feel the fragility of life with every cell of your body, the dance floor becomes an extension of your everyday fight for freedom and resistance to the fascist country of Russia.”<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":106972,"id":106972,"title":"","filename":"From-Simeiz2.jpg","filesize":594491,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/k41-dancefloor-warriors\/from-simeiz2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"from-simeiz2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":106970,"date":"2023-03-15 15:38:01","modified":"2023-03-15 15:44:39","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":85,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","medium-width":1920,"medium-height":1280,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","medium_large-width":1920,"medium_large-height":1280,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":1280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz2.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1920,"wpvr_mobile-height":1280}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"10","caption":"Artwork by Anton Shebetko from his project about queer night life in Crimea in the 1990s. "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
“It\u2019s no exaggeration to say that this year has transformed every single one of us. Everyone on the dance floor today is a warrior. Here is Katya \u2013 she\u2019s a military medic, and has come to Kyiv on her day off. Here is Vlad \u2013 he\u2019s a volunteer who works on reconstructing damaged houses. Here is another Vlad \u2013 he just returned from a liberated city, where he delivered humanitarian aid. And here are Oleksyi and Sergiy, both of whom recently got back from Bakhmut: one is a journalist working on a video piece about the city and the other is a soldier on rotation. And, finally, us \u2013 the team of the club commonly known as K41. Could we have imagined a year ago that we would have to start collecting donations to fight for the survival of our community, the survival of our future? Could we have imagined a year ago that we would be buying cars and drones for the army? No. But today we know that this is the least we can do to be standing on the dance floor. We know many who paid the highest price for this \u2013 with their lives. And we will forever remember them.”<\/p>\n
“Remember the cost of peace and freedom, even if you are lucky enough to live under a peaceful sky. It\u2019s likely that someone you once knew personally, perhaps someone you danced with or saw at a show, has made that sacrifice. Make sure that you do everything in your power to bring us sooner to victory. And now, let us honour the memory of all Ukrainians who died in the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine!”<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":106971,"id":106971,"title":"","filename":"From-Simeiz3.jpg","filesize":609189,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/k41-dancefloor-warriors\/from-simeiz3\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"from-simeiz3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":106970,"date":"2023-03-15 15:37:52","modified":"2023-03-15 16:31:09","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":85,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","medium-width":1920,"medium-height":1280,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","medium_large-width":1920,"medium_large-height":1280,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":1280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/From-Simeiz3.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1920,"wpvr_mobile-height":1280}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"10","caption":"Artwork by Anton Shebetko from his project about queer night life in Crimea in the 1990s. "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"