Christian Spuck stammt aus Marburg und wurde an der John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart ausgebildet. Seine tänzerische Laufbahn begann er in Jan Lauwers’ Needcompany und Anne Teresa de Keersmaekers Ensemble «Rosas». 1995 wurde er Mitglied des Stuttgarter Balletts und war von 2001 bis 2012 Hauschoreograf der Compagnie. In Stuttgart kreierte er fünfzehn Uraufführungen, darunter die Handlungsballette Lulu. Eine Monstretragödie nach Frank Wedekind, Der Sandmann und Das Fräulein von S. nach E.T.A. Hoffmann. Darüber hinaus hat Christian Spuck mit zahlreichen namhaften Ballettcompagnien in Europa und den USA gearbeitet. Für das Königliche Ballett Flandern entstand 2006 The Return of Ulysses, beim Norwegischen Nationalballett Oslo wurde Woyzeck nach Georg Büchner uraufgeführt. Das Ballett Die Kinder beim Aalto Ballett Essen wurde für den «Prix Benois de la Danse» nominiert, das ebenfalls in Essen uraufgeführte Ballett Leonce und Lena nach Georg Büchner wurde von den Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, dem Charlotte Ballet, USA, dem Tschechischen Nationalballett Prag und vom Stuttgarter Ballett übernommen. Die Uraufführung von Poppea//Poppea für Gauthier Dance am Theaterhaus Stuttgart wurde 2010 von der Zeitschrift «Dance Europe» zu den zehn erfolgreichsten Tanzproduktionen weltweit gewählt sowie mit dem deutschen Theaterpreis Der Faust 2011 und dem italienischen «Danza/Danza-Award» ausgezeichnet. Christian Spuck hat auch Opern inszeniert: Auf Glucks Orphée et Euridice an der Staatsoper Stuttgart folgten Verdis Falstaff am Staatstheater Wiesbaden sowie Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust und Wagners Fliegender Holländer an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Von 2012 bis 2023 war Christian Spuck Direktor des Balletts Zürich. Hier waren seine Choreografien Romeo und Julia, Leonce und Lena, Woyzeck, Der Sandmann, Messa da Requiem, Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Dornröschen und Monteverdi zu sehen. Das 2014 in Zürich uraufgeführte Ballett Anna Karenina nach Lew Tolstoi wurde in Oslo, am Moskauer Stanislawski-Theater, vom Koreanischen Nationalballett und vom Bayerischen Staatsballett ins Repertoire übernommen. 2018 hatte in Zürich Spucks Ballett Winterreise Premiere, für das er mit dem «Prix Benois de la Danse 2019» ausgezeichnet wurde. 2019 folgte beim Ballett Zürich Helmut Lachenmanns Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (Auszeichnung als «Produktion des Jahres und Kompanie des Jahres für das Ballett Zürich durch die Zeitschrift tanz). Für das Moskauer Bolschoitheater kreierte er 2021 sein Ballett Orlando nach Virginia Woolf. Spucks Messa da Requiem wurde nicht nur zum Adelaide Festival nach Australien eingeladen, sondern auch vom Het Nationale Oper & Ballet Amsterdam und vom Finnischen Nationalballett übernommen. Seit Beginn der Saison 2023/24 ist Christian Spuck Intendant des Staatsballetts Berlin.

Michail Jurowski studierte am Moskauer Konservatorium bei Leo Ginsburg und Alexej Kandinsky und wurde im Alter von 25 Jahren Assistent von Gennadi Roshdestwensky beim Grossen Symphonieorchester des Staatlichen Rundfunks und Fernsehens in Moskau. 1989 übersiedelte er aufgrund einer Einladung der Semperoper Dresden nach Deutschland und wurde 1990 Musikdirektor und ständiger Gastdirigent der Nordwestdeutschen Philharmonie Herford. Von 1999 bis 2001 war er Chefdirigent an der Oper Leipzig. Er ist ständiger Gastdirigent des Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchesters Berlin, der Deutschen Oper Berlin, des Tonkünstlerorchesters Wien, des Odense Symphony Orchestra und des Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Von 2006 bis 2008 war er Chefdirigent des WDR-Rundfunkorchesters Köln. Höhepunkte seiner Operntätigkeit waren Sir Peter Ustinovs Produktion «Iolanthe» und Rachmaninows Francesca da Rimini bei den Dresdner Musikfestspielen, Boris Godunow an der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Schostakowitschs Nase an der Oper Leipzig und Prokofjews Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen an der Komischen Oper Berlin, Parsifal am Teatro Carlo Felice in Genua, Tosca, La traviata und Die Zarenbraut an der Oper Frankfurt, Götterdämmerung in Dortmund, Tschaikowskis Dornröschen in Oslo sowie Respighis Marie Victoire, Un ballo in maschera und Rienzi an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Am Opernhaus Zürich dirigierte er Glasunows Raymonda.

Christian Schmidt studierte Bühnenbild bei Erich Wonder an der Wiener Akademie der Bildenden Künste. 1992 arbeitete er zum ersten Mal mit Claus Guth zusammen, woraus sich eine intensive künstlerische Partnerschaft entwickelte. Zahlreiche Inszenierungen Guths hat er mittlerweile als Bühnen- und Kostümbildner ausgestattet, darunter Iphigénie en Tauride und Le nozze di Figaro (Salzburger Festspiele), Der fliegende Holländer (Bayreuther Festspiele), Fierrabras, Radamisto, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, Tristan und Isolde und Parsifal  für das Opernhaus Zürich sowie Mozarts Lucio Silla (Wiener Festwochen). Auch durch Uraufführungen hat sich das Team einen Namen gemacht, darunter Czernowins Pnima und Stauds Berenice für die Münchener Biennale, Ruzickas Celan in Dresden, Oehrings Unsichtbar Land in Basel und Czernowins Heart Chamber an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Für Hans Neuenfels’ Inszenierungen von Zemlinskys Der König Kandaules an der Wiener Volksoper (1997) und Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Stuttgart (1998) entwarf Schmidt die Ausstattung (Auszeichnung «Inszenierung des Jahres» durch die «Opernwelt»). 2003 kürte ihn die «Opernwelt» zum «Bühnenbildner des Jahres», 2005 zum «Kostümbildner des Jahres». Für das Bühnenbild zu Simon Boccanegra in Hamburg erhielt er 2006 den Rolf-Mares-Preis. 2010 arbeitete er erstmals mit Christof Loy zusammen (Die lustige Witwe in Genf). Für Christian Spuck schuf er in Stuttgart das Bühnenbild zu Glucks Orphée et Eurydice sowie zu Romeo und Julia und Messa da Requiem in Zürich. Seit 2011 arbeitet er auch mit Andreas Homoki zusammen (Das schlaue Füchslein, Komische Oper Berlin und Juliette, Opernhaus Zürich) und verantwortet mit ihm den neuen Zürcher Ring.

Emma Ryott trained at Trent Polytechnic with a BA in Theatre Design. Ever since their first collaboration in 2003, Emma Ryott and Christian Spuck continued working together for ballet and opera productions, such as Lulu. Eine Monstretragödie in Stuttgart, Anna Karenina in Zurich, Oslo and Moscow, Romeo und Julia in Zurich, Woyzeck in Oslo and Zurich, Das Fräulein von S. in Stuttgart, Leonce und Lena in Montréal, Stuttgart und Zurich, Der Sandmann in Stuttgart und Zurich, Poppea / Poppea und Don Q. for Gauthier Dance, The Return of Ulysses for das Royal Ballet of Flanders, La Damnation de Faust at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Falstaff in Wiesbaden and Orfeo ed Euridice in Stuttgart. She also works closely with director Keith Warner. Their collaborations include Mathis der Maler at Theater an der Wien, Manon Lescaut at the English National Opera as well as La Damnation de Faust and Harbison’s The Great Gatsby at the Semperoper Dresden. Other designs were created for Sunset Boulevard and Manon Lescaut (Goteborg), Otello (Salzburg), The Heart of Robin Hood for the Royal Shakespeare Company (awarded with Elliot Norton Award for outstanding design), Rock ‘n Roll by Tom Stoppard (London Royal Court, West End and Broadway), Chekhov-trilogy directed by Jonathan Kent (National Theatre, London) and the New Year’s Day Concert, Vienna, 2016.

Reinhard Traub absolvierte eine Ausbildung als Grafikdesigner und Berufspilot. Von 1980 bis 1985 war er Assistent bei Chenault Spence und gestaltete anschliessend u. a. zwei Welttourneen mit den Produktionen Sophisticated Ladies und Carmen Jones als Lichtdesigner. Seit 1992/93 war er bei den Bühnen Graz tätig und konzipierte Lichtdesigns für Produktionen an den Opernhäusern von Amsterdam, Zürich, Brüssel, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hongkong, Kopenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Montreal, Moskau, München, Oslo, für die Salzburger Festspiele, das Glyndebourne Festival sowie für das Hamburger Thalia Theater, die Volksbühne Berlin und das Burgtheater in Wien. Reinhard Traub arbeitet regelmässig mit Regisseuren wie Johann Kresnik, Martin Kušej und Christof Loy zusammen. Seit 2006/07 ist Reinhard Traub Leiter der Beleuchtungsabteilung der Staatsoper Stuttgart. Dort ist er Lichtdesigner für Produktionen wie Jenůfa, Der Schaum der Tage, Ariadne auf Naxos, Nabucco sowie Die Nachtwandlerin, Platée, Der fliegende Holländer, Parsifal und La Bohème. 2017 war Reinhard Traub für das Lichtdesign der Produktion Aida bei den Salzburger Festspielen verantwortlich, ausserdem für Tristan und Isolde (2015), Parsifal (2016) und Lohengrin (2018) bei den Bayreuther Festspielen, denen er zukünftig bei Tannhäuser und Der Ring des Nibelungen verbunden sein wird. Darüber hinaus unterrichtet Reinhard Traub seit 2001 an der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart.

Michael Küster stammt aus Wernigerode (Harz). Nach dem Studium der Germanistik, Kunst- und Sprechwissenschaft an der Universität Halle war er Moderator, Autor und Sprecher bei verschiedenen Rundfunkanstalten in Deutschland. Dort präsentierte er eine Vielzahl von Klassik-Programmen und Live-Übertragungen wichtiger Konzertereignisse, u. a. aus der Metropolitan Opera New York, der Semperoper Dresden und dem Leipziger Gewandhaus. Seit 2002 ist er Dramaturg am Opernhaus Zürich, u. a. für Regisseure wie Matthias Hartmann, David Alden, Robert Carsen, Moshe Leiser/ Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, David Pountney, Johannes Schaaf und Graham Vick. Als Dramaturg des Balletts Zürich arbeitete Michael Küster seit 2012 u. a. mit Cathy Marston, Marco Goecke, Marcos Morau, Edward Clug, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián und Hans van Manen, vor allem aber mit Christian Spuck zusammen (u. a. Romeo und Julia, Messa da Requiem, Winterreise, Dornröschen). An der Mailänder Scala war er Dramaturg für Matthias Hartmanns Operninszenierungen von Der Freischütz, Idomeneo und Pique Dame.

Lucas Valente comes from Brazil. He studied performing arts and philosophy at the University of São Paulo. His first engagement was with the Ballet Company Laura Alonso in Havana and he was involved in the «Arsenale della Danza» project at the Venice Biennale in 2012. From 2012 to 2016 he danced in the São Paulo Companhia de Dança, where he appeared in choreographies by Edouard Lock, Marco Goecke, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, and Jiří Kylián, among others. He danced in choreographies by Richard Siegal at the Ballet of Difference in 2017. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2017/18 season. He presented his choreography Trees Die Standing as a part of the «Junge Choreografen» series. He has appeared as Tybalt/Count Capulet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia and appeared in Crystal Pite’s Emergence.

Eva Dewaele is from Belgium. After completing training at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp, she was engaged by the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Theater Luzern, the Opera Göteborg, the Opéra de Lyon, the Cullberg Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. She has danced in choreographies by William Forsythe, Mats Ek and Jiří Kylián as well as in world premieres by Jacopo Godani, Douglas Lee, David Dawson and Christian Spuck. Eva Dewaele has also appeared in several feature films. With the start of the 2012/13 season she became a member of Ballett Zürich and was also ballet master of the Junior Ballett. She danced Lady Capulet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Rosetta in Leonce und Lena and the Dark Lady in Spuck’s Sonett. As a choreographer, Eva Dewaele created the piece Mit Blick auf for the Hodler retrospective of the Fondation Beyeler and presented the piece Miss(es) as a part of the «Junge Choreografen» series. Her choreography Passing by was created for the Junior Ballett. She has been a ballet master of Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. She staged the production of Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina at the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow, the Korean National Ballet, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett.

Katja Wünsche comes from Dresden and was trained at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. She has won prizes at numerous ballet competitions. From 1999 to 2012 she danced in the Stuttgart Ballet, including as a principal dance from 2006. She danced leading roles in choreographies by John Cranko (Romeo und Julia, Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung, Onegin), John Neumeier (Endstation Sehnsucht, Die Kameliendame), Marcia Haydée (Dornröschen, La Sylphide, La fille mal gardée) and Christian Spuck (Lulu, Der Sandmann, Leonce und Lena, Das Fräulein von S.) and ballets by Forsythe, Kylián, León/Lightfoot and Goecke. In 2007 she was awarded the German Dance Prize Future (for promising young artists) and the German Theater Prize Der Faust. Katja Wünsche has been a first soloist with Ballett Zürich since the 2012/13 season. She has been seen in Zurich as Julia in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Lena in Leonce und Lena, Marie in Woyzeck, Anna Karenina and Kitty in Anna Karenina and Clara in Der Sandmann. She has also performed in choreographies by Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke. In 2014 she was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

Giulia Tonelli comes from Italy. She graduated from the Balletto di Toscana and the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera. After her first engagement at the Vienna State Opera, she danced from 2002 to 2010 with the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp and from 2004 as a demi-soloist. There she danced Giselle (Petipa) as well as solo roles in choreographies of Forsythe, Balanchine, Kylián, Haydée and Spuck. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2010/11 season, where she has performed ballets by Spoerli, Goecke, McGregor, Lee, Forsythe, Kylián and Balanchine. She danced Julia in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Lena in Spuck’s Leonce und Lena and Betsy in Anna Karenina. In Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction she danced in the Pas de trois and she also performed in Forsythe’s Quintett and Spuck’s Messa da Requiem. Last season’s highlights include Emergence by Crystal Pite and Gretchen in Edward Clug’s Faust. During the «Junge Choreografen» series she presented the works Mind Games and Klastos together with Mélissa Ligurgo. In 2013 she was awarded the Giuliana Penzi Prize. In 2017 she received the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

William Moore is British and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. He has won prizes at international ballet competitions. He has belonged to the Stuttgart Ballet since 2005 and was appointed as principal dancer there in 2010. Important roles were Siegfried in Schwanensee, Lensky in Onegin and Lucentio in Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung (all by John Cranko), Armand in Neumeier’s Kameliendame, Leonce in Christian Spuck’s Leonce und Lena, the title role in Marco Goecke’s Orlando, Albrecht in Giselle by Anderson/Savina, Colas in Ashton’s La fille mal gardée. In 2012 William Moore was awarded the German Theater Prize «Der Faust». Since the 2012/13 season he has been first soloist with Ballett Zürich. Important roles include Romeo in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Vronsky in Anna Karenina, the Nutcracker in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Mephisto in Faust by Edward Clug, Petruschka in the choreography by Marco Goecke, and Diaghilev in Goecke’s Nijinski. He has also appeared in pieces by Wayne McGregor, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, and Jiří Kylián. In 2018 he received the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

Alexander Jones comes from Great Britain. He received his dance training at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 2004 he won the gold medal in the Adeline Genée Competition and the Dame Ninette de Valois Prize. In the 2005/06 season he became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed principal dancer in 2011/12. In Stuttgart he has appeared as Armand Duval in Neumeier’s Kameliendame, Romeo in Cranko’s Romeo und Julia, in the title roles of Cranko’s Onegin and Kevin O’Days Hamlet, as Basilio in Maximiliano Guerra’s Don Quixote and in MacMillan’s Lied von der Erde. He has also danced in choreographies by Balanchine, Robbins, Ashton, Schaufuss, Tetley, Béjart, Haydée, van Manen, Forsythe, Lee, McGregor, Clug, and Spuck. Alexander Jones has been a first soloist of Ballett Zürich since the 2015/16 season. Here he has danced Prince Siegfried in Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction, Albrecht in Patrice Bart’s Giselle and Romeo in Romeo und Julia, Nathanael in Der Sandmann and Vronsky in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck), among others.

Daniel Mulligan comes from Great Britain and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, he joined Ballett Zürich in the 2009/10 season. He has appeared as a soloist in many of Heinz Spoerli’s choreographies. He danced Mercutio/Benvolio in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia as well as in ballets by Mats Ek (Dornröschen), Hans van Manen (Solo, Kammerballett), Edward Clug (Chamber Minds, Le Sacre du printemps), Sol León/Paul Lightfoot (Skew-Whiff, Speak for Yourself), William Forsythe (Quintett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs, Stepping Stones, Sweet Dreams), Ohad Naharin (Minus 16), Marco Goecke (Petruschka), Filipe Portugal (Corpus), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite. Recent leading roles have included Mephisto in Faust by Edward Clug, Fritz and the Clown in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, as well as Stiva in Spuck’s Anna Karenina.

Wei Chen comes from the USA and received his education at the Boston Ballet School, the Margo Marshall School of Ballet, the Walnut Hill School, and the Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. At the Royal Ballet of Flanders he danced in Marcia Haydées Schwanensee (Siegfried) and Dornröschen (Prince Desiré) as well as in Cranko’s Onegin (Lensky). He has also appeared in choreographies by Balanchine, Bournonville, Dawson, Forsythe, Godani, McGregor, Nureyev, Pite, Stevenson, and Wheeldon. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2013/14 season and has performed in choreographies by Douglas Lee, Jiří Kylián, Marco Goecke, Edward Clug, William Forsythe, and Crystal Pite, among others. He also danced Romeo and Mercutio in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Benno in Ratmansky’s Schwanensee, Coppelius in Spuck’s Der Sandmann, and Albrecht in Patrice Bart’s Giselle.

Mark Geilings comes from Australia, where he was trained at the Australian Ballet School. He danced with the Leipzig Ballet from 2012-2015, where he performed in choreographies by Uwe Scholz, Mario Schröder (the title role in Otello), Meryl Tankard (Cinderella), Ohad Naharin, and Cayetano Soto. He was a member of Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart for the 2015/16 season, where he performed in Marco Goecke’s Nijinsky. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2016/17 season, where he has appeared in Petruschka by Marco Goecke, Kammerballett by Hans van Manen, Gods and Dogs by Jiří Kylián, Lady with a Fan by Douglas Lee, and as Mercutio in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, among others.

Jan Casier was born in Belgium. He studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the Royal Ballet of Flanders where he danced in ballets by John Cranko, William Forsythe, David Dawson and Christian Spuck. He appeared in David Dawson’s Faun(e) as a guest at the English National Ballet. From 2012 to 2014 he was a member of Ballett Zürich, where he performed roles in numerous Christian Spuck ballets, including Leonce in Leonce und Lena, Paris in Romeo und Julia and the title role of Woyzeck. He also danced in choreographies by Edward Clug, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke and Wayne McGregor. From 2014 to 2016 he was a member of the Semperoper Ballett Dresden. There he performed in choreographies by Aaron Watkins (Prince in The Nutcracker), William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson and Alexander Ekman. Jan Casier returned to Ballett Zürich in 2016. Since his return, he has danced in Forsythe’s Quintett, Godani’s rituals from another when and the title role in Edward Clug’s Faust and Marco Goecke’s Nijinski. He also appeared as Drosselmeier in Christian Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig. In 2019, he was named «Dancer of the Year» by the «tanz» magazine and was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

Jesse Fraser was born in Saskatoon, Canada. He trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet with the 2010/11 season. There he danced in choreographies by Cranko, MacMillan, Spuck, Haydée, Neumeier, Béjart, Forsythe, Cherkaoui, Goecke, Clug, Volpi, and Stiens. He created the choreographies Back and Forth and Second Self(ie) as a part of the «Young Choreographers» of the Noverre Society series. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2015/16 season. He has appeared as Paris in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, as Levin in Spuck’s Anna Karenina, as Hilarion in Patrice Bart’s Giselle, in Marco Goecke’s Petruschka and in choreographies by Jacopo Godani, Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, and Crystal Pite. In the 2019/20 season he appeared in Forsythe’s The Second Detail.

Dominik White Slavkovský is Slovakian. Trained at the Bratislava Dance Conservatory, he danced for five years in the Ballet of the Slovak National Theater in Bratislava, most recently as a semi-soloist. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. In choreographies by Christian Spuck he performed the title role of "Woyzeck", as Drosselmeier in "Nutcracker and Mouse King", Coppelius in "The Sandman", Paris in "Romeo and Juliet" and as Death in Edward Clug's "Peer Gynt". He has also danced in choreographies by George Balanchine, Uwe Scholz, Alexei Ratmansky, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Hans van Manen, Nacho Duato, Marco Goecke, James Kudelka, Vladimir Malakhov and many others. In the series "Young Choreographers" he showed his pieces "How to save the world", "Conspiracy" and "Boyband"

Kevin Pouzou is French. He studied at the École de Danse de l’Opéra de Paris and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. In 2007 he became a member of the Staatsballett Berlin, where he was appointed principal dancer in 2015. He has performed as Benno in Patrice Bart’s Schwanensee, as Paris in John Cranko’s Romeo und Julia, as well as in choreographies by George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Stanton Welch, Angelin Preljocaj, Alexei Ratmansky, Ohad Nahrin, Vladimir Malakhov, and Jiří Kylián. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2017/18 season, where he has appeared as Prince Siegfried in Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee, Diaghilev in Marco Goecke’s Nijinski, and Albrecht in Patrice Bart’s Giselle.

Elena Vostrotina comes from St. Petersburg. She received her ballet education at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. In 2003 she became a member of the Mariinsky Ballet. There she danced among others Odette/Odile in Schwanensee (Petipa/Ivanov), Myrtha in Giselle (Coralli/Perrot), Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote (Gorsky) and in Approximate Sonata (Forsythe). In 2006 she was engaged by Aaron S. Watkin at the Semperoper Ballett Dresden. Here she was appointed principal dancer and danced a wide repertoire of classical, neoclassical and modern ballets. She has collaborated with renowned choreographers and performed at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theater in Moscow, at the State Theater Novosibirsk, at the gala «Roberto Bolle and Friends», and at the Ballets Bubeníček. Elena Vostrotina has been a first soloist at Ballett Zürich since the 2017/18 season, where season she has appeared as Odette/Odile in Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction, as the nursemaid in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Myrtha in Patrice Bart’s Giselle as well as in Christian Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Winterreise and Nocturne.

Irmina Kopaczynska was born in Poland. She studied at the Polish National Ballet School Poznan. She won several prizes in the Polish National Ballet Competition. She also took part in the «Premio Roma» and the «Prix de Lausanne». After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, she became a member of Ballett Zürich starting with the 2011/12 season. She danced the Silver Fairy in Mats Ek’s Dornröschen, Betsy in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, and the Nursemaid in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia. She has also appeared in choreographies by William Forsythe (In the middle, New Sleep), Hans van Manen (Kammerballett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs, Bella Figura), Iacopo Godani, Edward Clug, Marco Goecke (including the Mother in Nijinski), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite.