The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian dancers and choreographers.
Vladimir Malakhov is a Ukrainian ballet dancer who was the artistic director of the Staatsballett Berlin from its founding in 2004 until 2014. He is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Vienna State Opera Ballet.
Natalia Romanovna Makarova is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West."
Olga Alexandrovna Spessivtseva was a Russian ballerina whose stage career spanned from 1913 to 1939.
Élisabeth Platel is a French prima ballerina.
Víctor Ullate is a dancer, choreographer, ballet director and ballet teacher.
Wayne Eagling is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, School of the Hamburg Ballet, established in 1978. The performances of the Hamburg Ballet are usually held at the Hamburg State Opera, while the training and education facility is the "Ballettzentrum Hamburg – John Neumeier".
Thomas Lund is the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet in Copenhagen. Lund admitted to The Royal Danish School of Ballet in 1986 aged 11. He became apprentice in 1991, member of the corps de ballet of The Royal Danish Ballet in 1993, soloist in 1996 and was appointed principal dancer in 2000. In September 2012 Lund retired as a Principal Dancer to become the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet He held that position until June 2022.
Jacopo Godani is an Italian dancer-choreographer who directs Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company
Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer, born in Paris on October 10, 1964. He was an étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he began direction of the Vienna State Ballet. He was appointed artistic director of La Scala Theatre Ballet in December 2020.
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Lunkina is a Russian-Canadian ballerina who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.
José Carlos Martínez is a Spanish dancer and choreographer. He was a danseur étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet and artistic director of the Spanish National Dance Company. He became the director of dance at Paris Opera Ballet in December 2022.
Manola Asensio is a former Swiss ballet dancer. She was born to a Swiss father and an English-born mother. In 1956 she began studying at the ballet school of La Scala in Milan, where she stayed until she became a professional in 1964. After a short season with the La Scala Theatre Ballet, she joined the ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland where she was directed by Janine Charrat.
Yacobson Ballet is a Russian ballet company. It was founded in 1969 by Ballet Master and choreographer Leonid Yacobson. It was the first Russian independent company which gained prominence within the Russian ballet landscape and received the title of "Miniature Company", referring to the short lengths of the pieces created by its founder. During seven years as a director, Yacobson worked on the development of dance in Russia and collaborated with dancers including Natalia Makarova, Alla Osipenko, Maya Plisetskaya and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Francesco Ventriglia is an Italian ballet dancer, choreographer and artistic director. In 2010 he was appointed as Europe's youngest artistic director by the Florence Opera House at the age of 32, where he held the role as artistic director and principal choreographer for Maggio Danza until 2013. In 2014, he was named the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet until June 2017, and from January 2018, as adjunct artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, Ballet Nacional Sodre alongside Igor Yebra. Ventriglia is also a choreographer of classical and contemporary ballet, having works performed internationally by companies such as the La Scala Ballet, Arena di Verona, Bolshoi Theatre, the Mariinsky Ballet, Grande Theatre du Geneve, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ballet Nacional Sodre and at the Venice Biannale.
Nadia Yanowsky is a Spanish ballet dancer.
Olga Sapphire was the stage name of Russian and Japanese ballerina and choreographer Olga Ivanovna Pavlova, whose married name was Midori Shimizu. She was classically trained at both the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute and the Moscow Choreographic School. She performed in Russia until her marriage in the early 1930s to a Japanese diplomat, Takehisa Shimizu. After agreeing to move to Japan in 1936, she developed classical ballet there, bringing with her theoretical and pedagogical materials to underpin her dance lessons and establish the field.
Lorca Massine is a choreographer and dancer born in New York on July 25, 1944, to choreographer Léonide Massine, a Russian immigrant. He studied dance with his father, Victor Gsovsky, Asaf Messerer and Anatole Wilzac. Over his career, Lorca Massine has collaborated with world-acclaimed choreographers such as Balanchine, Béjart, and his father, Léonide Massine,.
Andrey Eduardovich Klemm is a Russian born ballet dancer, ballet teacher, author and choreographer.
