Oleksandr Stoianov is the producer of Grand Kyiv Ballet’s “Swan Lake,” which will be staged at Powers Auditorium on April 19.

He also is a dancer and is part of a different Grand Kyiv production touring simultaneously with “Swan Lake.”

He was here last year with “Giselle,” but Stioanov admitted during a Zoom interview from Seattle that he doesn’t have many memories of the city. The demands of being a touring performer coupled with the responsibilities of also being the producer of the tour don’t leave much time for sightseeing. That opportunity won’t come until he retires from dancing.

“It’s biggest problem in artist’s life,” he said. “You can be all around the world. You can dance in all countries, all cities, but you cannot see beauty of the city (until) after you were retired …

“We start travel again after 40, but like tourists, not like artists.”

“Swan Lake,” perhaps the best known ballet to casual dance fans outside of “The Nutcracker,” is the story of a prince who falls in love with a swan, a princess who is under a spell cast by a sorcerer.

“‘Swan Lake’ is (Pyotr Ilyich) Tchaikovsky,” Stoianov said. “This is most famous composer in the world, in the ballet world. This performance is about betrayal, about love. ‘Swan Lake’ is ballet masterpiece.”

Stoianov has turned his love of ballet into salvation for some of his fellow Ukrainians and an escape from the horrors of war there.

He and his wife, Kateryna, were performing in France when the war started in 2022. They evacuated their children, and through Grand Kyiv Ballet, they’ve been able to evacuate about 200 dancers and provide work for them with multiple productions and shows currently booked in seven countries.

In addition to physically escaping the war, the time on stage and the hectic pace of touring provides a mental escape as well.

“When you’re dancing on stage, you can’t think about some bad situations,” Stoianov said. “You’re really like the artists from your ballet, like Prince or like Jester. For this two or three hours, you totally forget about something outside of the theater. It really helps.

“Our mission, for now, it’s not just to support Ukraine and Ukrainian art. We also try to give some good emotions and moments for the people, not just for the artists but for the audience also, because they come to the theater for something good, something positive. The theater is a special place for us.”

And how will he celebrate when he can return to his homeland, hopefully at peace and victorious?

“It’s really interesting question. I think, because ballet is all my life, I think it will not be something extraordinary. I think we do super big ballet, and we invite all our friends, all the people who supported us. We do big after party with unlimited food, alcohol.”

If you go …

WHAT: Grand Kyiv Ballet — “Swan Lake”

WHEN: 7 p.m. April 18

WHERE: Powers Auditorium, DeYor Performing Arts Center, 260 W. Federal St., Youngstown:

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $40 to $70 and are available at the DeYor box office, online at experienceyourarts.org and by calling 330-259-9651