The Dance That Never Was: How an AI Project About a Girl from Irpin Made It to the Webby Awards Final
"Arina's Story" — an immersive documentary project by UNITED24 about an eight-year-old ballerina whose first performance was halted by war — has been nominated for the 30th Webby Awards. The competition includes Netflix, Google, Taylor Swift, and Stephen Colbert.
By Oleg Bazylewicz
April 8, 2026 · 2 min read
Arina from Irpin was supposed to be eight when she made her stage debut for the first time. Instead — occupation, evacuation, interrupted ballet classes. This unfinished story became the basis for «Arina's Story» — an immersive VR project that is now competing for one of the world's most prestigious digital awards.
What is the project and how does it work
UNITED24, together with ISD Group, Microsoft, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, created an immersive experience where viewers walk through a reconstructed Irpin House of Culture in the metaverse. Microsoft Azure cloud platform provided the technical infrastructure. Inside — Ukrainian culture: the celebration of Malanky, Leontovych's «Shchedryk», contemporary works by artist Masha Reva, who also created visuals for Harry Styles' music videos.
The central element is a dance that doesn't actually exist. The team used artificial intelligence to recreate a performance that Arina never gave. According to Rubryka citing UNITED24, Ukrainian choreographer Kostiantyn Tomilchenko and his team were involved in the work — they worked with young dancers to give the AI visualization living depth.
«A dance that did not exist — but could have existed if not for the war»
UNITED24
30th Webby Awards: competition context
The jubilee, 30th Webby Awards ceremony will take place on May 11, 2026 in New York. Winners will be announced on April 21. According to Variety, this year's nominees include Taylor Swift, Stephen Colbert, McLaren F1 / Dropbox, Netflix, Disney, PBS, Google. Voting for the Webby People's Voice was held until April 16.
«Arina's Story» has already received international recognition: it won the Favourite Website Awards in the category of most innovative digital projects. Among the previous competitors were a website by Charles Leclerc (F1 track simulation), OAKLEY's flagship experience in Milan, and the Lumen Artspace art gallery.
Why this matters for UNITED24
The project is not just a communication case. It is directly tied to fundraising for the «Education and Science» program: school restoration, bunker construction, generator purchases. Arina in it acts not as a victim, but as a guide — a child who shows a destroyed city and talks about the dream of learning safely.
- Technologies: VR + metaverse + Azure + generative AI
- Partners: ISD Group, Microsoft, Ministry of Digital Transformation
- Previous award: Favourite Website Awards (most innovative project)
- Fundraising goal: UNITED24 «Education and Science» program
A question that remains after winning or losing at Webby: will international attention to such projects translate into real donations — or will they remain in the format of «an impressive case for festivals» while schools wait for funding?
