STARS GALA

Elizaveta Kokoreva was born in Moscow into a family of the ballet artists. In 2019, graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (class of Tatiana Galtseva) and joined the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet Company. At the end of 2021-22 season she was promoted to the leading soloist, in 2023 — to the principal dancer.
At first she rehearsed under the supervision of Nadezhda Pavlova. Currently her teacher is Maria Allash.

Her diverse repertoire includes roles in Giselle (Giselle), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Spartacus (Phryngia), The Queen of Spades (Lisa), The Nutcracker (Marie), The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Jewels (the leading couple) and many others.

Elizaveta was a participant of Russian Masters Ballet camp.
Photo by Damir Yusupov.

In 2011 Ivan Zaytsev joined the ballet company of one of the best theatres of the world - Mikhailovsk, where very soon he became a Principal dancer, his repertoire includes solo and principal roles in La Sylphide, Le Corsaire, Cipollino, Don Quixote, Laurencia, The Flames of Paris, La Fille mal gardée, and Class Concert
as well as productions of Nacho Duato The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness, Prelude, Invisible, and White Darkness. Ivan has toured with the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company to Japan, USA, Germany etc.

He start his career from Krasnodar Ballet School in 1997 and while studying he was training at the Yury Grigorovich Ballet Theatre where he performed roles in the ballets Spartacus, Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda, The Golden Age, The Nutcracker, and Cipollino.
In 2002 Ivan graduated from Krasnodar Ballet School and entered the Department of Choreography at St. Petersburg State University for Culture and Arts.
After graduation from the University in 2007, he joined Leonid Jacobson Ballet Theatre in St. Petersburg, where he danced Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Jose (Passion for Carmen), Siegfried (Swan Lake), Prince (The Nutcracker), Albrecht (Giselle), and Rodin (The Kiss).

After participation in the 11th Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2009, he was invited to join Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre. Ivan´s parties in Eifman Ballet were:

• Basil in Don Quixote, 
• Onegin in Onegin, 
• Vronsky in Anna Karenina, 
• Ekaterina´s son in Russian Hamlet, 
• The Prince,
  
• The Young man & The Joker in Chaikovsky.
  

More information on the website of the Mikhailovsky theatre.

Anna was born in Siberia. She started to dance at 5 years old and graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Ballet School in Siberia. 

Anna started her career with the Siberian State ballet (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) as a soloist. Later she became a guest-principal dancer with Mikhailovsky theatre (Saint-Petersburg) and Tatarstan state ballet (Kazan). Since 2012 Anna joined Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre ballet company as a principal dancer. During this period of dancing with Russian ballet companies her repertoire was very diverse. 

At 2015 she joined Dutch National Ballet as a principal dancer. Since that moment Anna became an international guest-principal dancer .She worked with Teatro Colon (Argentina) for “La Bayadere” by Natalia Makarova,  with Semperoper Dresden ballet for “Manon” by K.McMillan. Currently Anna is working with Staatsballet Berlin as a guest.

Anna’s repertoire is very diverse. During her carrier she dances principal roles in almost all well known classical ballets as “Nutcracker” , “Sleeping beauty”, “La Bayadere”, ”Gizelle”, “Copelia”, “La fille mal gardee”, “La Sylphide” , “Snow Maiden”, “Don Quihote”, ”Romeo and Juliette”, “Swan lake” and others. Her repertoire also includes main roles in lots of neoclassical ballets by such a famous choreographers as K.McMillan, J.Robbins, J.Kranko, G.Balanchine, A.Ratmansky, C.Wheeldon , Hans van Manen ,D.Dawson,Y.Grigorovich, Rudi van Danzig ,Ted Brandsen and others. In a different time her partners on stage were Sergei Polunin, Ivan Vasiliev, Leonid Sarafanov and others. 

In a studio legendary Natalia Makarova, Guillaume Graffine, Alexey Ratmansky, Michael Messerer , Patricia Neary, Patricia Ruann , Karl Burnett, Olga Evreinoff, Yukari Saito,Yannick Boquen ,Larissa Lezhnina, Rachel Beaujean and many others helped her to improve her skills of dance. At 2008 and 2010 she won gold medals on International ballets competitions in Krasnoyarsk and Perm. She is a winner of «Dance Open 2018- miss virtuosity» prize in Sankt Petersburg.

Currently Anna is working successfully with Dutch National ballet as a principal dancer and participates lots of  Ballet Galas around the world.

Francesca was born in Bucharest, Romania and began her ballet training at the age of 4, attending the Choreography High school in Bucharest until she was 15 years old. After receiving 2nd place at Youth America Grand Prix, she was invited to study at Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Following her two years of study in Russia, at the age of 17 she joined the Romanian National Opera and Ballet for one year while studying for her state exams in Bucharest.
She is currently a Junior Soloist with English National Ballet.

Her repertoire includes:
Clara/Sugar Plum in Wayne Eagling's 'Nutcracker',
3rd Principal Couple in Liam Scarlett' s 'No man's land' ,
First Couple in George Balanchine's 'Theme and Variations',
Kitri in Alexander Gorski's 'Don Quijote' ,
Trio Couple in Alexey Ratmansky's 'Concerto DSCH',
1st couple in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s ‘Laid in Earth’,
Henriette in Tamara Rojo’s ‘Raymonda’,
Vegas in William Forsythe’s ‘Playlist’.

In 2018 she won the 'Laurence Olivier Award' for 'Outstanding Achievement in Dance' following her performance of 'The Chosen One' in Pina Bausch' s 'Le Sacre du printemps'. She was chosen to be part of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019.

Jan Špunda, originally from Ostrava, Czech Republic, is a soloist with Dutch National Ballet, recognized for his elegant technique and expressive artistry. After beginning his professional career with Bayerisches Staatsballett, he joined Dutch National Ballet, where he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a soloist.

Jan trained at the English National Ballet School on a scholarship and was supported throughout his studies by the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. His talent was recognized early on, winning third prize at the Tallinn International Ballet Competition in 2014. In 2017, he won third prize and the Outstanding Artistry Award from Dance Europe Magazine at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in New York.

Jan’s repertoire reflects his wide range, spanning both classical and contemporary works. He has performed principal roles in Nutcracker, Raymonda, Diamonds, Emeralds, Four Schumann Pieces, The Four Temperaments, Blake Works, and Anima Animus. He has worked with some of the most influential choreographers in the ballet world, including William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, John Neumeier, Ted Brandsen, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson, Jiří Kylián, Wayne McGregor, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Jan continues to expand his ballet journey, broadening his repertoire and performing at international galas.

Patrik Benák was born in Prague (Czech Republic). He started hip-hop at the age of four and ballet at the age of ten. A year later, he was admitted to the Pražská konzervatoř - Prague's conservatory - where his professional training began.

In 2016 he attended Russian masters ballet camp for the first time. In 2017, he was admitted to the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. He was allowed to represent the school in a competition in Riga, where he came in second in two categories.

In 2019, he was admitted to the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg. During his training there, Patrik had the opportunity to dance at the historic Mariinsky Theatre, the Mikhailovsky Theatre and the Hermitage Theatre. He also danced major roles in school productions such as the prince in The Nutcracker, a solo in August Bournonville's Le Conservatoire and a friend in Coppelia.

In 2022, Patrik returned to the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin to complete his training. During the final year of his training, he danced, among other roles, the role of Count Albrecht in Giselle at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. In 2023, Patrik was accepted into the Junior Company of Dutch National Ballet.

Daniil Potaptsev was born in Saint Petersburg. In 2022, graduated from St. Petersburg Boris Eifman Dance Academy (class of Maxim Prokofiev) and joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company. In the 2022/ 23 season he was promoted to the soloist.
Now Daniil Potaptsev rehearses under the supervision of Vitaly Breusenko.

At the end of 2023 he was promoted to the solois, at the end of 2023/ 24 season — to the first soloist.

Born in Madrid, she trained at the Carmen Amaya Professional Dance Conservatory with Mariví Hinojosa, graduating with honours. 

Valeria Garcia del Castillo received a two-year scholarship to the English National Ballet by Viviana Durante, where she worked with renowned choreographers and teachers such as Zenayda Yanowsky, then she joined the Joffrey Studio Company in Chicago. She completed her training with renowned teachers such as Hervé Ilari, Marlon Dino, Alicia Alcaraz, Antonio Castilla, Marta Ruiz Estrampes, and Lola de Ávila.

She is a finalist and winner in competitions such as the YAGP in Barcelona, ​​Nice, Toulouse, Ribarroja, and Castellón, where she won several scholarships, as well as a silver medal in Nice.

She has performed solo roles such as Gamzatti (Bayadere), Queen of the Dryads (Don Quixote), Raymonda, Paquita, and Esmeralda, sharing the stage with stars such as Polina Semionova and Anna Ol.

In November 2024, she joined the Compañía Nacional de Danza, under the direction of Muriel Romero.

Tomas Sanza was born in the city of Mallorca, Spain. He started his ballet education at the Professional Conservatory of Palma de Mallorca finishing it at the English National Ballet School in London. Tomas is an ex Russian Masters Ballet student of the Alicante summer camp.

First years of his career upon graduation he had been working with the Bucharest National Opera and eventually returned to the homeland, Spain, to work with National Dance Company in Madrid and expansing his repertoire.

Winner of prizes in national and international competitions

AMANDA GOMES

Principal dancer of the Tatar State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after M. Dzhalil.

Honoured Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan. Dame of the Order of Rio Branco — the highest honor awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (2024).

Winner of prestigious international ballet competitions, including the 17th International Ballet Competition in Varna (2016), the International Competition for Ballet Artists and Choreographers in Moscow (2017, 2022), and the "Arabesque" International Ballet Competition (2014), among others.

Recipient of the Republic of Tatarstan’s "Tantana" Theatre Award in the category "Best Role in a Musical Performance" (2020).

Winner of the television project "Grand Ballet" on the Rossiya-K TV channel in the category "Best Duo" (with partner Wagner Carvalho, 2018).

Finalist of the "Benois de la Danse" award (2018) and laureate of the international music award "BraVo" (2024).

She graduated from the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil. Since 2014, she has been a soloist with the Tatar State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after M. Dzhalil.

• Giselle (Giselle, A. Adam)
• Odette/Odile (Swan Lake, P. Tchaikovsky)
• Nikiya, Gamzatti (La Bayadère)
• Aurora, Lilac Fairy (The Sleeping Beauty, P. Tchaikovsky)
• Masha (The Nutcracker, P. Tchaikovsky)
• Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, S. Prokofiev)
• Esmeralda (Esmeralda, C. Pugni / R. Drigo)
• Syuyumbike (Shurale, F. Yarullin)
• Anyuta (Anyuta, music by V. Gavrilin)
• Marina (Zorba the Greek, M. Theodorakis)

...among others.