By night, Anton Tiplov takes to the Gaeity stage and wows audiences during Riverdance.
But by morning, the Ukrainian dancer wakes with just one thing on his mind - calling his family back in his war-torn homeland.
“I’m happy on-stage, as I’m in such an incredible show like Riverdance - but I’m so sad inside because my family are hiding in the basement,” says Anton.
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The 33-year-old is living in Dublin during the Riverdance summer run at the Gaeity Theatre until September 11.
“Some days I feel so sad but on stage you have to keep going and perform,” continues Anton.
“At least when I perform I can smile. It’s a mask but it helps me - it’s horrible and amazing at the same time.”
Meanwhile, Anton’s parents, his sister, his brother and his grandparents are 3,400 kms away in Mykolaiv, the capital of the Oblast – right next to the city of Snihurivka, which was captured by the Russians in July.
“I ring them every morning to say ‘Hi, how’s your night?’ and pray my mom will tell me it was a quiet night but it’s never this way,” says Anton.
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“The news is the same – my mom tells me about air sirens, shelling, bombings in the city; that sometimes they had to sleep in the basement. Sometimes I’m afraid to message.”
“It’s getting worse now and my city is on the news.”
He continues: “All my mates, I see them on Facebook and Instagram – all with the guns in military uniforms - people I danced with when we were kids, they’re now running around with guns hiding in trenches.
"It’s just a crazy world. We had Covid in one moment and war in the next.
I’m trying to stay focused and positive. I can’t control those things and I’m grateful I’m here with Riverdance.
"My parents messaged me to say for the first time in their lives, they’re happy that I’m not there.”
Ever since Anton watched Riverdance videos as a dance-mad boy in Ukraine, he fantasised about joining the Irish dancing troupe.
But there was one problem – he never learned Irish dancing.
Then, after he moved to Liverpool in 2018, a year after marrying his Liverpudlian wife Jane - who’s also performing in Riverdance - he was invited to join the Riverdance Folk Ensemble dance troupe to perform the ‘Dervish’ segment.
Anton was part of Riverdance's 25th Anniversary Show in February 2020 at the 3Arena and continued touring around the UK until all shows were stopped when the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Now, he’s back for the Ireland summer tour with Jane, who joined him in Riverdance in August last year, after he taught her some dances and they did audition tapes together.
Anton - who has been dancing since he was seven and trained professionally at Mykolaiv Collage of Culture and Art and then went on to study at Mykolaiv University of Culture and Art - says: “It’s strange because Riverdance has always been my dream. I remember as a child, I always wanted to be in the Riverdance – in the section I’m in.”
Although Anton – a professional ballet, tap, latin and ballroom dancer, as well as other genres - performs the Eastern European/Ukrainian folk dance part of the show, he pulls on his Irish dancing shoes for the finale.
“I saw Riverdance tapes as a kid. It’s mad. It’s so hard to get into the show and then it happened – a friend I knew from university got in touch and it went from there.”
“When I was asked I was like: “What? Wow! And my wife is dancing with me now.”
Anton - who spent years dancing on cruise ships like the Queen Victoria and the Queen Mary II, where he met Jane - is the first to admit: “I’m a folk dancer, not an Irish dancer.
“In the finale we dance together and do a bit of Irish dance. I learned from dance captains and videos during 2020 so I can do some steps. It’s completely different to our dancing – Irish is all about the feet. We use lifts and arms and jumps and tricks.
“The blend of our folk and Irish dance shows the unity of dance and countries. It shows the diversity of different styles.”
He adds: “I sent my mom the 2020 production of Riverdance on DVD. They can’t come and watch the show - I hope when the war stops, I can fly them to wherever I am to see the show. I’m always keeping optimistic but I think it could go on for at least a year as there seems to be no room for negotiation.
"It’s always on my mind now, that I need to focus and build a career and to work as much as I can. Nobody at home can work anymore and I’m always thinking, if something happens to our home, then I’ll be the person who has to provide for my family.”
Riverdance is at the Gaiety Theatre until September 11.
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