Ballet Without Borders was a great success and sold out quickly. The show brought top-tier international ballet stars to Switzerland for the first time, offering a cultural event of the highest caliber. Dancers affected by the war in Ukraine came together on stage, united by their passion for dance and their talents.
The production was organized by Natalija Fernandez-Gromova, a mother from Mariupol, Ukraine, who has already lost family members and homes due to the war. As the mother of the award-winning Swiss ballerina Laura Fernandez-Gromova, Natalija is a strong advocate for culture and freedom for dancers worldwide. Through "Ballet Without Borders," she demonstrated her commitment to peace and the support of international ballet talent across borders, while also aiding children and mothers from the war-torn region of Mariupol, Ukraine.
World-class ballet stars on the stage of "Ballet without Borders" for a good cause
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, she moved to the State Theater in Georgia, where she is currently dancing as a principal.
Laura is the first Swiss ballerina who managed to be chosen as a principal in a major theater abroad at the age of 24.
In 2010 Parish Xander became the first British dancer to be awarded Principal by the Mariinsky Theatre.
In 2019 he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honors List. Because of the war, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet as a principal in August 2022.
Yago comes from Brazil. In 2016 he graduated from the Bolshoi Theater School in Dmitri Afanasyev's class and joined the young company of the Bolshoi Theater School.
From the 2018/19 season he danced as a solo dancer at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater. He was awarded the “PI Tchaikovsky” prize in Perm for the best performance with music by Peter Tchaikovsky. And in 2018 he won third prize and the “Jury Press” prize at the “Arabesque” ballet competition. Since the 2022/23 season he has been dancing as a principal soloist with the Bavarian State Ballet.
Born in Chisinau, Moldova, he graduated from the National Ballet School in Chisinau in 2000 and the Vienna Ballet Conservatory in 2002.
In 2000 he became a member of the ballet ensemble of the Theater Unter den Linden in Berlin, and in 2004 he became a member of the Berlin State Ballet. His repertoire includes leading roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Tchaikovsky, Onegin, The Nutcracker and many others.
Tatijana Melnik is the Female Lead, Étoile of the 2019/2020 season. Her notable competitions include the Moscow International Ballet Competition (2013), where she won 2nd prize, and the Arabesque International Ballet Competition (2012), where she won 3rd prize. Winner of third prize at the Arabesque Ballet Competition 2012 and second prize at the Moscow International Ballet Competition 2013. She has been a Principal at the Hungarian National Ballet since 2015.
Vladyslav Melnyk was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. He studied at the Kharkov Ballet School in 1995 and went to the Perm State Ballet School in 2004. His professional career includes the Hungarian National Ballet, the Stanislavsky Ballet Theater, the Bolshoi Theater, the Russian Ballet (in Moscow), the Perm Opera and the Ballet Theater.
Maria Beck was born in Detroit, Michigan and began taking ballet lessons with Valentina Barsukova at the age of 6. In 2022, Maria Beck graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and received her master's degree in pedagogy. In 2020, Maria was announced as prima ballerina by Laurent Hilaire after her debut in Rudolph Nureyev's Don Quixote. In 2022, Maria graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and completed her master's degree in teaching. In the same year, Maria joined the Hungarian State Opera as a principal dancer.
Boris Zhurilov is one of the few members of the Reunited Company who is entirely Russian. The story of Zhurilov's escape from his homeland is almost as remarkable as his ballet career. After early successes under Mahar Vaziev and later Yuri Fateyev of the Mariinsky, in 2018 Zhurilov accepted an offer to dance premiere roles at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet in Georgia before becoming the first soloist at the Stanislavsky Theater in Moscow. But on February 24, 2022, his dreams and hopes collapsed. He is currently the first soloist at the Opera Budapest.
Yekaterina Chebykina was born in Kyiv and graduated from the Kyiv Dance School in 2011. She won a gold medal at the VII International Serge Lifar Competition and won bronze at the III International Yuri Grigorovich World Youth Ballet Competition. She also received the Special Prize for Artistic Development at the III International Ballet Competition (Seoul, 2010) and was accepted into the State Ballet of Georgia as a first soloist because of the war.
Born in London in 1997, Oskar Frame began his ballet training at the age of 14 with a full scholarship at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., where he was introduced to and trained in the Vaganova method of classical ballet. He was taught by Nikolai Tsiskaridze for a year. After graduating from the Vaganova Academy in 2017, he was engaged by the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, where he performed luminary and soloist roles until 2020. He is currently a principal at the State Ballet of Georgia in Tbilisi.
Evelina graduated from the Riga Choreography School in 2010. She began her artistic career on the stage of the Latvian National Opera at the age of 11 in the role of Queen's Grove in Swan Lake. In 2017, she became the first Latvian ballerina to win a gold medal and a special prize at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Since 2018, Evelina has been a first soloist at the Berlin State Ballet and dances leading roles such as Sugar Plum, Aurora, Giselle, Kitri, Juliette, etc.
Dmitry was born in Moscow and started studying ballet at the age of 10 at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Dmitry completed his eight-year course in 2007 and received an offer to the Bolshoi Theater under the direction of Alexei Ratmansky. In 2016, he was nominated for the Benois de la Dance award for the role of Basilio in R. Nureyev's Don Quixote with the Royal Swedish Ballet. Currently, as of the 2014/2015 season, Dmitry works as a principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, Sweden.
Laura Fernandez-Gromova, Principal Ballerina at the State Ballet of Georgia
Filippo Montanari, soloist at the State Ballet of Georgia
Maria Baranova, Principal Ballerina of the Bavarian State Ballett in München
Jakob Feyferlik, Principal of the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich
Maria Yakovleva, Principal Ballerina of the Opera Budapest
Boris Zhurilov, Erster Solist of the Opera Budapest
Anna Tsygankova, Principal Ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet
Giorgi Potskhishvili, Principal Dancer of the Dutch National Ballet
Ksenia Ovsyanick, Principal Ballerina of the Opera Berlin
David Motta, Principal Dancer of the Opera Berlin
Anna Ol, Principal Ballerina with Het Nationale Ballet
Alejandro Virelles, Principal Dancer with Opera Berlin
(Änderungen vorbehalten)
Zurich Convention Center was completely sold out for the first event of "Ballet Without Borders".
