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Born in Rouen, Sandra began dancing in Canteleu before joining the National Conservatory in Rouen. As an enthusiastic teenager, she travelled to Switzerland to perfect her art at the Rudra-Béjart Workshop where she had the chance to go on national and international tours with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne.

In her first professional project with the famous Vladimir Pankov, she travelled throughout Russia with the “Soundrama” troupe of actors and musicians putting on the “Syndrome d’Orphée”.

Her adventures continued in Germany with the “Gauthier Dance Theaterhaus” in Stuttgart. Sandra stayed there for 6 years, dancing the repertoire from Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Shahar Binyamini, Eyal Dadon, Hans Van Manen, Marco Goecke, Nacho Duato, Cayetano Soto, Stephan Thoss, Itzik Galili, Mauro Bigonzetti and many others…

In August 2019, she joined the “Staatsoper Hannover” (Hanover State Opera) directed by Marco Goecke, reinforcing the ensemble in pieces by Medhi Walerski, Juliano Nunes, Andonis Foniadakis, Emrecan Tanis, Lukas Timulak, Nadav Zelner, and of course Marco Goecke. She played the main part in “The Lover” (Liebhaber) adapted from the book by Marguerite Duras and was nominated as “Best Dancer of the year” for this role.

Born in Switzerland, Maurus trained at the Zurich dance academy and then at the Hamburg Ballet school where he built up his stage experience dancing in choreographies by Kevin Haigen, Vaslav Nijinsky and John Neumeier.

He began his career at National Youth Ballet John Neumeier in Hamburg. In 2013, he joined the “Gauthier Dance Company” in Stuttgart where he performed in choreographies by Marco Goecke, Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Shechter, Barack Marshall, Nadav Zelner, Helena Waldmann, Nacho Duato, Mauro Bigonzetti and many others… The same year, he received the “Bündner Kulturpreis” in his home canton of Grisons, recognising his work dancing with the National Youth Ballet John Neumeier.

He has been a member of the “Hanover State Ballet” since September 2019, appearing in PRELUDE by Medhi Walerski, THIN SKIN by Marco Goecke, KOSMOS by Andonis Foniadakis, RISE by Emrecan Tanis and CONCERTANTE by Hans van Manen. He played the main role of NIJINSKY and “The Lover” in LIEBHABER by Marco Goecke.

Born in Tbilissi in Georgia, Maia began her training there at the “Choreographic Institute” run by Vakhtang Chabukiani. In 2002, she spread her wings to the United States, Colorado to be precise, to continue her training. During this period, Maya won several medals in international competitions which caught the eye of the Colorado Ballet where she was offered her very first professional contract. At lightning speed, she climbed the ranks and soon became a Principal in the company.

After a year at the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Maya was invited to join the Het National Ballet, where she currently works as a Principal.

An exceptional dancer, in 2011 she received the “Prix Nina Ananiashvili et Gilbert Albert”, in 2014, “Critics Choice” crowned her an “ Outstanding Dancer” for her role in Firebird by Aleksei Ratmansky and her interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Pas de deux, by Balanchine, and in 2015, she won the Prix Alexandra Radius.

Nominated for the Benois de la Danse for the role of Marguerite Gautier in La Dame aux camélias by John Neumeier, she was also named as “Dancer of the year” by critics from the Dance Europe magazine in 2020.

Invited to dance on the most important stages throughout the world, she recently played Le Corsaire by José Carlos Martínez at theSlovenia National Theatre and Swan Lake by Benjamin Pech at the Rome Opera. Maia danced the role of Giselle in the new version by Eléonora Abbagnato. Annabelle Ochoa Lopez created her Frida Kahlo with Maia for the Het Nationale Ballet.

Originally from the Portuguese islands of the Azores, Inês Ferrer began her training at the Faro Ballet school, before joining the Superior Dance School in Lisbon.

She joined the National Ballet of Portugal in 2013 where she has been entrusted with soloist roles from the company’s classical repertoire:  Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadère.

As versatile dancer, she has embraced the neo-classical repertoire by dancing in pieces such as “Short Cut” and “5 tangos” by Hans Van Manen, “Shostakovich Pas de deux” by Yannick Boquin, “Sérénade” or even “Concerto Barocco” by George Balanchine.

In more contemporary registers, we can see her in: “Orphée & Eurydice” and “Pedro e Inês” by Olga Roriz, “Será que é uma estrela” by Vasco Wellenkamp, “Minus 16” by Ohad Naharin, “Chronicle” by Martha Graham and “The rite of Spring” by Nijisnky to name but a few.

Since the start of her career, she has taken part in many international Galas. Her art has been recognised with many awards and she was crowned “Best Soloist” during the Dance World Cup Competition.

©Photos : João Costa

Originally from Lisbon, Miguel Ramalho was trained at the “National Conservatory Dance School”. Directed by Vasco Wellenkamp, he joined the “ Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo”, dancing skilfully in the company’s most important national and international successes. He then joined the National Ballet of Portugal where he shines in various roles in the company’s classical and contemporary repertoire such as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, the Nutcracker, Don Quichotte, Firebird, Swan Lake or even Romeo & Juliet. 

He excels in contemporary dance, taking on parts by Vasco Wellenkamp, ​​Olga Roriz, Henry Oguike, Edward Clug, Marguerite Donlon, Sasha Waltz, Ohad Naharin, Akram Khan,…

In 2012, the Portuguese press made him their “Dancer of the Year”. Three years later, he was promoted to Principal Dancer in the company and was invited by Faustin Linyekula to take up a residence in the Congo before dancing his new creation: “Portait Series – IMiguel”.

2019 was his crowning year, receiving the medal of honour and merit, and he joined the company’s ranks of Principal dancers.

In 2017, he began his career as a choreographer, creating variations for prestigious institutions and companies in Portugal and internationally. Two years later, he became the first choreographer to jointly create a work with the great Vasco Wellenkamp, his director during his first professional contract, as the student became the master. In 2021, he was invited to create and share an event with the Belgian dancer and choreographer, Sibi Larbi Cherkaoui, planned for March 2022 at the National Ballet of Portugal.

©Photos : Portrait João Costa/ Dancing : Bruno Simão

Born in Novosibirsk, in Russia, Anna studied dance at her local dance school before joining the Bolshoi Ballet in 1997. Promoted to soloist a year later, she was coached by the legendary ballerina Raisa Struchkova. In 2004, she joined the National Hungarian Ballet as a principal and since 2007, she has been developing in this position at the Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam.

She has been the guest dancer in many companies such as the Royal Ballet in London, the Vienna Opera Ballet, the Rome Opera Ballet, the Hong Kong Ballet, the Tatarstan National Ballet,…

Her repertoire includes all the major classical roles, although she also boasts an impressive contemporary repertoire. She has also created several roles, particularly under the leadership of Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky or even Hans Van Manen.

In 2008, she received the “Alexandra Radius Prize”. In 2013, she was given the Benois de la Danse for Cinderella by Christopher Wheeldon, and in 2014, she won the Open Prize at the Dance Grand Prix.

Her films include Quichote, Cinderella, Giselle and the Nutcracker.

We would like to thank Anna for stepping in to replace Igone de Jongh, who has a calf injury. We wish Igone a speedy recovery.

Born in 2002 in the suburbs of Paris, Inès fell in love with dance while watching a documentary on the Paris Opera Dance School. She then took classes at the “Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris“ for a year before being admitted to the Paris Opera Dance School at the age of 9 and a half. Inès took all her classes in the French school’s pure tradition. A tireless worker, she has shaped her body little by little, to erase what she called her imperfections. She had the chance to take on her first solo roles in “Raymonda” and “Spring and Fall” by John Neumeier, as well as the leading role in “Les deux Pigeons” by Albert Aveline.

With her schooling completed in 2019, she joined the Corps de Ballet at the Paris Opera Ballet, when she was only 16 years old. She will be promoted to Coryphée in April 2021, after her first Concours (postponed due to the strikes) and to Sujet in the wake of the second Concours, just 6 months later. These promotions gave her confidence and, above all, the opportunity to work on certain soloist roles. In particular, she had the chance to dance the pas de deux of “Flamme de Paris“, which required unparalleled technical skills.

In December 2021, Inès was invited to perform at the Gala The Hivernales de la Danse as part of a close collaboration with the “Exclusive International Ballet Program“, an international workshop directed by Thomas Gallus and Robert Tewsley. Each year, an exceptional student is rewarded with an invitation to perform at the Gala The Hivernales de la Danse. Inès was the winner of the first edition.

Born in Russia, Maria trained at the Bolshoi school in Moscow and danced at the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet before joining the San Francisco Ballet as principal dancer in 2007. She is one of the most talented dancers of her generation, invited to dance at the Bolshoi, the Stanislavsky, the Mariinsky, the Mikhailovsky, the American Ballet Theater, the Rome Opera, la Scala in Milan, the Tokyo Ballet and at the National Dance Company in Madrid. Since 2015, she has split her time between the San Francisco Ballet and the American Ballet Theater, becoming one of those rare principals who can enjoy the luxury of belonging to two companies at the same time.
Maria has danced in all the principal roles in the great classical ballets, while eagerly awaiting creations from modern and contemporary choreographers, who are always delighted to be able to express their art through such an exceptional dancer.
She has taken part in numerous international gala events, including “Roberto Bolle & Friends”, the Ballet Stars of the 21st Century concert in Paris or “Ballet Now” at the Music Center in Los Angeles.

Passionate about art and fashion, Maria appeared in a video for the stylist Julien David for his spring/summer collection 2015 and in the video clip for “Unbound” by “The Cathedrals”, the “Spirit of Van Cleef & Arpels” video and Visa Checkout and Gap advertising, all in 2014. She plays Juliet in the film on Tomasson’s Romeo and Juliet: Great American Dance.
She was nominated as best female dancer in 2014 by the “Circle National Dance Award (U.K.)” and for a Benois de la Danse in 2013 for her role of Tatiana in Onegin by Cranko. In 2009, she received a gold medal at the “NBC Superstars of Dance”. She won the “Isadora Duncan Dance Award” for the best individual performance for Giselle in 2008, gold medals at the International Competitions in Korea and Italy in 2005, gold medal at the Luxembourg International Ballet Competition in 2003, silver medal and the jury prize at Varna in 2002, silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 2002 and the bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 2001.

In 2018, Maria decided to seek more freedom and chose to become a freelance principal dancer. She continues to dance all around the world to our great delight.

Following the pandemic, Maria decided to go back to her beloved company, the English National Ballet, in September 2021.

Sebastian trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School and naturally progressed to join the Royal Danish Ballet in 2003 where he was promoted to soloist in 2009.

His classical repertoire boasts Romeo and Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, the Prince in Cinderella, Theseus/Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Professor in La Leçon, numerous pieces by Balanchine,…

His modern repertoire includes Petite Mort, Bella Figura, Cacti, La Stravanganza, The Unsung. He created roles for Sol Léon & Paul Lightfoot, Natalia Horecna and Jacopo Godani.

From 2012 to 2014, he danced with Gauthier Dance//Theaterhaus Stuttgart, directed by Eric Gauthier. He created various roles in Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White by Itzik Galili, Malasangre by Cayetano Soto and Burning Bridges by Jirí Bubenicek. He has also danced in pieces by Mauro Bigonzetti, Hans van Manen, Alejandro Cerrudo, Christian Spuck and Eric Gauthier.

He successfully tried his hand at choreography with Strangers (2015), Betty Be Black (2016), 1970now (2016) for the Royal Danish Ballet, Limberly (2016) for the German National Youth Ballet and Ways To Go (2013) for Gauthier Dance.

Originally from the Ukraine, Denys studied dance with Vadim Pisarev at the Donetsk Ballet Academy before joining the Heinz Bosl Ballet Academy in Munich at the age of 16. Two years later, he became a professional dancer at the Vienna Opera Ballet. He was promoted to demi-soloist in 2008, soloist in 2009 and made the grade of Principal in 2012, directed by Manuel Legris.

Denys has taken part in many international competitions, notably winning 2^nd prize at the Kiev International Youth Competition in 2004, 1^st prize at the Serge Lifar Competition in Kiev in 2004, 1^st prize at the Tanzolymp competition in Berlin in 2005, junior silver medal at the Jackson International Competition in 2006, 1^st prize at the Vienna International Contemporary Dance Competition in 2007, silver medal at the Korean International Ballet Competition in 2010 and 1^st prize and gold medal at the 25^thVarna International Ballet Competition in 2012.

He was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2011 for his performance in “The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude” by William Forsythe.

He is regularly invited to dance with other companies, particularly in Italy, Russia and France, and also the United States.

Denys is a regular in Liège as he has been teaching classical ballet for 3 summers at the Liège International Summer School organised by the Stage de Danse non-profit organisation.