STARS GALA

Maria Ilyushkina is one of the most radiant stars of the contemporary Russian ballet stage. Renowned for her exquisite lines, technical precision, and profound musicality, she embodies the purest traditions of the St. Petersburg school. In 2025, she was elevated to the highest rank of Prima Ballerina at the world-renowned Mariinsky Theatre.

Awards and Recognitions
• "Soul of Dance" Prize – Awarded by *Ballet* magazine in the "Ballet Star" category (2025).
• Winner of the "Bolshoi Ballet" Project – Television competition on Russia-Kultura (paired with Evan Capitain, 2024).
• XIV Moscow International Ballet Competition – First Prize and Gold Medal (2022).
• Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition (VKIBC) – Gold Medal (New York, 2016).

Biography
Born in St. Petersburg, Maria Ilyushkina graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 2016 (class of Y. Kasenkova). Upon graduation, she was immediately invited to join the Mariinsky Ballet.
Her ascent was swift and celebrated by critics: she was promoted to Soloist in 2020 and achieved the rank of Prima Ballerina in 2025. Her artistry combines the rigorous academicism of the Vaganova training with a unique, soulful stage presence.

Repertoire
Maria Ilyushkina’s vast repertoire spans the greatest masterpieces of classical ballet, neoclassical gems, and contemporary works.

Classical Masterpieces (M. Petipa / S. Vikharev / K. Sergeyev):
• “Swan Lake” (Odette-Odile, Big Swans, Prince’s Brides)
• “Giselle” (Giselle, Monna)
• “The Sleeping Beauty” (Princess Aurora, Lilac Fairy, Princess Florine, Candide Fairy) – *Both in the 1890 reconstruction and the Sergeyev version.*
• “La Bayadère” (Nikiya, Trio of Shadows, Grand Pas)
• Raymonda” (Raymonda, Dream Variation)
• “Don Quixote” (Queen of the Dryads)
• “Le Corsaire” (Medora)
• “The Pharaoh’s Daughter” (Aspicia) – *Choreography by M. Petipa, reconstructed by T. Candeloro.*
• “The Talisman” (Pas de deux)
• “Paquita” (Paquita, Variation in Grand Pas)

M. Fokine Choreography:
• “The Dying Swan”
• “Chopiniana” (Nocturne, Seventh Waltz, Mazurka, Prelude)
• “Le Carnaval” (Estrella, Chiarina)

G. Balanchine Masterpieces:
• “Jewels” (“Diamonds”– Lead; “Emeralds” – Lead)
• “Serenade” (Lead role)
• “Symphony in C” (II. Adagio – Soloist; IV. Allegro vivace)

Soviet and Russian Classics:
• “Romeo and Juliet” (Juliet) – L. Lavrovsky
• “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” (Maria) – R. Zakharov
• “The Nutcracker” (Masha) – V. Vainonen
• “Legend of Love” (Mekhmeneh Bahnu) – Y. Grigorovich
• “The Stone Flower”* (Amethysts) – Y. Grigorovich
• “The Bronze Horseman” (Queen of the Ball) – Zakharov / Smekalov

Other Prominent Roles:
• “Sylvia” (Ceres) – F. Ashton
• “La Sylphide” (Sylphs) – A. Bournonville
• “The Little Humpbacked Horse” (Tsar-Maiden) – A. Ratmansky
• “Cinderella” (Skinny Sister) – A. Ratmansky
• “Grand Pas Classique” – V. Gsovsky
• “Elegy” – A. Polubentsev

Maria also performs as a guest artist, including appearances at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre (Vladivostok), performing the role of Princess Aurora in “The Sleeping Beauty”.

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.

Svetlana Bednenko was born in Donetsk, Ukraine, and trained at the Vadim Pisarev Choreographic School. At the age of 15, she became a soloist at the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and won first prizes at international competitions such as Tanzolymp Berlin, the Seoul International Ballet Competition, and the Serge Lifar Ballet & Choreographer Competition.

From 2011 to 2013, she was a soloist of the Eifman Ballet, touring across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the USA. Between 2013 and 2021, she danced as a soloist at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, performing leading roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, and Anna Karenina, among others.

Since the 2021/22 to 25/26 season, she was a member of the Ballet at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Germany. Her roles there include the Queen in Jerome Robbins’ The Cage, works by Demis Volpi such as The Nutcracker and the thing with feathers, as well as Short Cut by Hans van Manen.

Founder of Bednenko Ballet and author of stretching method.

Additionally, she conducts masterclasses, including those at Russian Masters Ballet intensives, and is actively engaged in pedagogical work.

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.

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.

Evan Capitaine is a distinguished dancer whose career bridges the elite traditions of Western European and Slavic ballet schools. Known for his noble stage presence and refined technique, he currently serves as a First Soloist at the world-renowned Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Education and Career
Capitaine’s training began at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School in France, where he studied from 2010 to 2013. He later moved to Minsk to complete his professional education at the Belarusian State Choreographic Gymnasium-College, graduating in 2016.

Upon graduation, he joined the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, where he served as a Soloist from 2016 to 2022.

In July 2022, Evan Capitaine made his highly anticipated debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in the role of Solor (La Bayadère). His talent and artistry were quickly recognized, and in 2023, he was promoted to the rank of First Soloist.

Repertoire
Evan Capitaine’s repertoire features lead roles in the most demanding classical ballets, as well as masterpieces of the 20th century and contemporary choreography.

Classical Masterpieces (Marius Petipa / Konstantin Sergeyev):
• Giselle (Count Albrecht)
• Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried, Rothbart)
• The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Désiré, Aurora’s Suitors)
• Raymonda (Jean de Brienne)
• The Pharaoh’s Daughter (Taor) – Reconstructed by Toni Candeloro
• La Bayadère (Solor)
• Le Corsaire (Conrad) – Choreography by Pyotr Gusev based on Petipa
• The Talisman (Pas de deux)

Dramatic and Neoclassical Repertoire:
• Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) – Leonid Lavrovsky
• The Nutcracker (Nutcracker Prince) – Vasily Vainonen
• The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Watslav) – Rostislav Zakharov
• Legend of Love (Ferkhad) – Yuri Grigorovich
• Carmen Suite (Jose) – Alberto Alonso
• Margarita and Armand (Armand) – Frederick Ashton

Contemporary and 20th Century Works:
• Le Parc (Soloist) – Angelin Preljocaj
• Danses Concertantes – Alexander Sergeyev
• Coppélia (Coppelius) – Alexander Sergeyev
• The Little Humpbacked Horse (Ivan the Fool) – Alexei Ratmansky
• Paquita (Andrés) – Yuri Smekalov, reconstruction of Petipa/Burlaka

Winner of "Bolshoi Ballet" (TV Project, 2024): Partnered with Maria Ilyushkina

Evgeniya Victory Gonzalez was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 2015 she completed her education at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. During her time at the Ballet School, she has been practicing and appeared several times on stage at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Evgeniya is a former student of Russian Master Ballet Camp.

From 2015 until 2018 she was a dancer at the Mariinsky Theater Ballet Company in St. Petersburg.
From 2018 until 2019 Evgeniya was a member of the Bavarian State Opera Ballet Campany.
In 2019, she became a demi-Soloist of the Czech National Ballet in Prague, where in April 2021 she was made a soloist.

Evgeniya has danced at prestigious ballet galas with the Russian Master Ballet Stars Gala, the Veterans Aid Charity in London and the Ballet Summer Estonia Gala.
In 2014, she received the third prize at the International Nordic Baltic Ballet Competition in Sweden, Falun and the Grand Prix at the Jeune Ballet Mediterranean in France, Grasse.

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.

Mikhail Timaev is a Principal Dancer of the Musa Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre and a distinguished figure in the world of classical dance. A recipient of the prestigious State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan named after G. Tukay, he is celebrated for his technical mastery, dramatic depth, and noble stage presence.

Education and Early Career

 Awards and Recognitions

Mikhail Timaev’s repertoire includes the lead roles in the greatest classical and contemporary ballets. He is renowned for his ability to blend rigorous classical technique with profound psychological portrayals, earning him the admiration of critics and audiences alike.

Elizaveta Anoshina is a soloist of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (NOVAT)

Education and Career

Elizaveta Anoshina graduated with honors from the Novosibirsk State Choreographic College in 2018, where she studied under the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, T.K. Kapustina. Immediately following her graduation in 2018, she was invited to join the ballet company of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (NOVAT), where she continues to perform today.

Awards

Laureate (3rd Degree): Moscow International Competition of Young Performers of Classical, Modern, and Folk-Stage Choreography in the "Classical Dance" category (Moscow, 2017).

Repertoire

Elizaveta’s repertoire includes a wide range of leading and solo roles in classical and contemporary productions:

•  Giselle – Giselle (A. Adam, choreography by J. Coralli, J. Perrot, M. Petipa)

•  Aurora – The Sleeping Beauty (P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by N. Duato)

•  Lise – La Fille mal gardée (F. Hérold, choreography by F. Ashton)

•  Juliet – Romeo and Juliet (S. Prokofiev, choreography by O. Vinogradov)

•  Marie – The Nutcracker (P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by Y. Grigorovich)

•  Cinderella – Cinderella (S. Prokofiev, choreography by R. Zakharov, revised by M. Messerer)

•  Anyuta – Anyuta (V. Gavrilin, choreography by V. Vasiliev)

•  Gulnare – Le Corsaire (A. Adam, choreography by J. Perrot, M. Petipa, revised by A. Omar)

•  Little Radish – Cipollino (K. Khachaturian, choreography by G. Mayorov)

Her artistry is characterized by technical precision and a deep emotional connection to her characters, making her a prominent figure in the theater's current repertoire.