Vadim Muntagirov
Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden
Dance Open: 2015
Born in Chelyabinsk in the family of ballet dancers, Vadim Muntagirov trained at the renowned Perm Ballet School. Won a Silver Medal at Prix De Lausanne competition in 2006, and received invitation to continue his education at The Royal Ballet Upper School in London. Wayne Eagling invited 19 year old Muntagirov, the final-year student, to join the English National Ballet in 2009. Since May 2014 he is a Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden. In 2010 he was named a the best classical dancer by English ballet critics. By the age of 21 he not only included all leading roles of classical and contemporary ballet in his repertoire but also danced as a guest star in many countries.
Marina Minoiu
Artist of the The Royal Danish Ballet
Dance Open: 2017
Former 1st Soloist with the National Bucharest Opera. Her repertoire includes leading roles in “Manon”, “La fille mal gardee”, “Marguerite and Armand”, “The Dream”.
At the Royal Danish Ballet her repertoire includes parties in the productions by C. Wheeldon, J. Kylian and N. Hubbe.
In 2015 she was nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for her role in Marguerite and Armand by Dance Europe, one of the most important international dance magazines.
Anastasia Meskova
Soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia.
Dance Open: 2013
In 2002, having completed her training at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, she joined the Bolshoi Theater corps de ballet. Recipient of the awards at the fouette Artek International Competition of Classcial Dance (2000) and International Competition of Ballet Dancers in Vienna (2001) where she won Grand Prix. She prepares all her repertoire under the guidance of Lyudmila Semenyaka. In 2010 participated in a world premiere tour of «And Then, One Thousand Years of Peace» (Music by L. Garnier, choreography by A. Preljocaj), specifically created for the Bolshoi Theater.
Sergey Mershin
Principal Dancer, Perm Ballet
Dance Open: 2017
Sergey Mershin graduated from the famous Perm Ballet Schools and he has gone all the way up from the corps de ballet artists to the principal dancer in a very short period of time. His persistence and immaculate technique allow him to perform comfortably any type of choreography work. His bright personality, masculinity and the freedom of gesture make him a solid partner who is capable of virtuoso supports and of being equally convincing in various roles, from romantic prince to grotesque Beiburzhuev.
He graduated from the Perm Choreographic College in 2000 and entered the Perm ballet the same year. His repertoire includes classical parties in the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Le Corsaire, the Fountain of Bakhchisarai, neo-classical ballets by Balanchine, Robbins, as well as original choreography works by Alexey Miroshnichenko, Luka Vedgetti, Douglas Lee, Caetano Soto. Among some of his most prominent works of the recent years are the Merchant in the Fool by Miroshnichenko, the Father of the Groom in the Wedding by Kilian, Soloist in the Second Detail by Forsythe, Romeo in Macmillan’s Romeo and Juliet and many others.
He is twice the winner of the 3rd price of the Arabesque competition in 2002 and 2004 and the City of Perm Diaghilev Award in Culture and Art (2002).
Tatiana Melnik
Principal Dancer of the Hungarian National Ballet
Dance Open: 2018, 2019
Graduated from the Perm State Ballet School in 2006. From then until 2013, she worked for the Russkiy Balet Moscow Oblast State Theatre under Vyacheslav Gordeev. In 2013, she became a soloist for the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. Winner of third prize at the 2012 Arabesque Ballet Competition and second prize at the 2013 International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Since 2015, she has been a principal at Hungarian National Ballet. Among the ballets in which she dances lead roles are Cinderella, La Bayadère, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty.
