- Principal dancer Jacopo Tissi and leading soloist David Motta Soares have quit the Bolshoi Ballet.
- "No war can be justified. Ever," Tissi said on Instagram.
- Their resignations came a day after the Bolshoi Theatre's music director Tugan Sokhiev quit.
Two star dancers with Russia's Bolshoi Ballet have quit the famed cultural institution over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Jacopo Tissi, the principal dancer for the renowned Moscow-based troupe, said in an Instagram post on Monday that he "will always be against every kind of violence."
"I am shocked by this situation that has come upon us from one day to the next, and quite honestly, I find myself unable to continue with my career in Moscow, for the time being," the 27-year-old Italian wrote.
"As a human being I feel empathy toward all the people and their families that are suffering. No war can be justified. Ever."
Italy's Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini praised Tissi's move, describing it as a "brave and noble choice," per Reuters.
On the same day, leading soloist David Motta Soares also said on Instagram that he was quitting the ballet company.
The 24-year-old Brazilian wrote that he was "deeply sad" to leave the Bolshoi Theater, which he had "called home for many years."
Noting that he has friends with families in Ukraine, he added that he could not "act like nothing is happening" and found it difficult to "believe this is all happening again."
The departures came a day after Tugan Sokhiev, the Bolshoi Theatre's Russian principal conductor and music director, announced on Facebook that he was resigning. The 44-year-old wrote that he had also left his position as conductor of France's Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.
"Today I am forced to make a choice and choose one of my musical family over the other. I am being asked to choose one cultural tradition over the over," he wrote, noting that he decided to quit both positions as he faced "the impossible option of choosing between my beloved Russian and beloved French musicians."
"We musicians are the ambassadors of peace. Instead of using us and our music to unite nations and people we are being divided and ostracised," he continued.
Meanwhile, the Royal Opera House in London said on Monday that it would no longer feature a Russian conductor at its upcoming staging of "Swan Lake."
"Given the ongoing situation in Ukraine, it is not possible for Pavel Sorokin, conductor for the Bolshoi Orchestra, to guest conduct for the Royal Ballet at this time," the opera house said, per AFP. Last week, the Royal Opera House also canceled a season of performances by the Bolshoi Ballet, the news agency said.
