Benjamin Pech Principal Dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet Dance Open: 2012

He joined the Paris Opéra Ballet School at the age of 12. He joined the Paris Opéra Ballet in 1992 and was promoted to Coryphée in 1994, Sujet in 1997 and Premier Danseur in 1999. Mr Pech was awarded the Grand Prix, the Gold Medal, the Critics Award and the Diaghilev Foundation Award at the International Competition Maïa Plissetskaïa in St Petersburg in 1994. He won the Carpeaux Award in 1996 and the AROP Award in 1998. He was elected Dancer of the Year in 2004 by Etoiles de Ballet 2000 and received in 2010 the King Manfred Award.

Irina Perren Honoured Artist of Russia Principal Dancer of the Mikhailovsky Theatre Dance Open: 2012, 2016

Born in 1980 in Leningrad, in 1998 she graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy. The same year joined the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Her professional awards include gold medals at the Rieti International Ballet Competition (2002) and Arabesque International Competition in Perm (2002), St. Petersburg’s theatre highest award Golden Soffit in the category Best Female Ballet Role for Medora in Le Corsaire (2009). In 2010 she won an award Soul of Dance by the Ballet Magazine (category «Star»).

Rupert Pennefather Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden Dance Open: 2010

Rupert was born in Maidenhead and trained with Julie Rose and at the Royal Ballet School. He joined Royal Ballet in 1999, was promoted to First Artist in 2004, to Soloist in September 2005, First Soloist in September 2006 and Principal in September 2008.

Adeline Pastor Soloist of the Aalto Ballet Essen Dance Open: 2009

She began her ballet studies in Nice, France in 1990 under the direction of Claudette Duillon and continued at the school of Alicia Alonso on Cubain 1996. Adeline was awarded the Silver Medal at the International Competition in Varna, Bulgaria in 1998. In 2008 she joined the Theater of Essen, Germany as a soloist.