Jury members

Artistic Director of Ballet and Principal Ballet Dancer, National Theatre in Belgrade

Born in 1983, Jovica Begojev graduated from the Ballet School in Novi Sad in 2001, where he studied with Vera Felle and Dragan Jerinkić. He then joined the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad and soon became a soloist. In 2005, he joined the National Theatre in Belgrade. His repertoire includes leading roles in the classical ballets Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), Don Quixote (Basilio), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Désiré and the Bluebird), La Bayadère (Solor), Giselle (Albrecht), The Nutcracker (the Nutcracker), and Chopiniana (the Poet). His contemporary repertoire includes Six Dances (Jiří Kylián), Step Lightly (Sol León and Paul Lightfoot), Queen Margot and The Taming of the Shrew (Krunislav Simić), Impure Blood and The Cage (Lidija Pilipenko), Autumn Flowers (Marie-Claude Pietragalla), and Interval (Zoran Marković and Maša Kolar).

Since February 2026, he has served as Artistic Director of the Ballet of the National Theatre in Belgrade.

He is the recipient of the Milorad Mišković Foundation Award (2012), the Radomir Vučić Award for his portrayal of Armand Duval in La Dame aux Camélias (2011), and the National Theatre Award for his debut as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake (2009–2010).

Prima Ballerina and General Director of the National Ballet of Cuba

Born in Havana, Viengsay Valdés graduated with honours from the National School of Arts in 1994 and joined the National Ballet of Cuba, where she quickly rose to the rank of prima ballerina. Alongside the classical repertoire, she performs works by Alicia Alonso, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Johan Kobborg and Peter Quanz. She tours internationally with the company and regularly appears at major festivals. As a guest artist, she has performed with companies including the Mariinsky Theatre and the Washington Ballet.

In 2019, she graduated from the Dance Faculty of the Cuban University of the Arts and was appointed Deputy Director for Technical and Artistic Affairs of the company. Since 2020, she has served as General Director of the National Ballet of Cuba.

A member of the International Dance Council at UNESCO, she has served on the juries of the Benois de la Danse International Ballet Prize in Moscow and the Prix de Lausanne. Her honours include Cuba’s Alejo Carpentier Medal and Félix Varela Order, the Leonide Massine Prize of Positano (2020), the Cuban National Dance Award (2025), the Grand Prix of the International Classical Ballet Festival in Mexico (2023), and the Order of Arts and Letters of France (2025).

Vice Chair of the Chinese Dancers Association, President of the National Ballet of China School

Ying Feng graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy and joined the National Ballet of China in 1980. In 1982, she trained with the Paris National Opera Ballet. Returning to China, she became a principal dancer and performed leading roles throughout the company’s repertoire. After retiring from the stage in 1997, she devoted herself to teaching, staging and production work, later serving as Artistic Director of the National Ballet of China.

She collaborated with Roland Petit, Ben Stevenson and John Neumeier, revived classical and neoclassical ballets, and produced numerous productions. Her choreographic works include Call of the Cranes, Light of the Heart, Yimeng, Like Flowers, Inspiration and Glory, Dream of the Red Chamber and Ode to Joy.

In 2018, she founded the National Ballet of China School and created the ballet The Nine-Coloured Deer for its students. She also initiated the National Ballet of China Ballet Seminar and the China International Ballet Season. Ying Feng has served on the juries of major international ballet competitions. Her honours include the Order of Arts and Letters of France (2015).

Knight of the Order of Rio Branco, dance Ambassador of the Brazilian Council of Dance at UNESCO, Former Prima Ballerina of the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro

One of the leading figures of Latin American ballet, Cecília Kerche has appeared with major international ballet companies and participated in gala performances in more than 20 countries. A prima ballerina of the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, she also led the company from 2016 to 2019.

She was a member of the curatorial team of the Joinville Dance Festival and served on the jury of the Benois de la Danse International Ballet Prize in Moscow. Kerche is also Artistic Consultant to the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil. As a teacher, she has collaborated with numerous festivals, sharing her experience with students and dancers from different regions of Brazil.

In 2023, she was awarded the Order of Rio Branco for services to the country.

Honoured Artist of Russia, Chief Ballet Master of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus

Igor Kolb graduated from the Belarusian Choreographic School (class of Alexander Kolyadenko), the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg Conservatory and the Higher School of Cultural Policy and Management at Lomonosov Moscow State University. From 1996 to 2022, he was a member of the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet in St. Petersburg, where he quickly rose to become a leading soloist.

He performed leading roles in classical ballets and works by George Balanchine, Leonid Lavrovsky, Leonid Yakobson, Yuri Grigorovich, Igor Belsky, William Forsythe, Jerome Robbins and other choreographers. As a guest principal dancer, he appeared with the Rome Opera Ballet and Vienna State Opera Ballet. He also taught at the Boris Eifman Dance Academy and the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and was involved in educational and producing projects.

Kolb is Artistic Director of the Dance. Dance. Dance project and founder and chairman of the organising committee and jury of the Open Art Festival in Veliky Novgorod.

Since 2022, he has served as Chief Ballet Master of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, where his productions include Giselle, Dances, The Nutcracker, Illusions of Love and Pathetic Diary of Memory.

He is a laureate of the Vaganova-Prix International Ballet Competition (St. Petersburg, 1995).

Choreographer, Director, Teacher, Producer, and Artistic Director of leading South African dance and ballet companies

Born and educated in South Africa, Esther Nasser has led a number of South African companies since 1982, including Movement Inc, Jozi Dance Company and Tshwane Dance Theatre, while also collaborating with other ensembles as a choreographer. From 1988 to 2000, she served as Artistic Director of the State Theatre Ballet, one of South Africa’s leading dance companies. In 2008, she was appointed Artistic Director of Mzansi Productions.

From 2016 to 2023, she was Chief Executive Officer of Joburg Ballet, one of the country’s foremost ballet companies. In 2024, she founded Dance Narrative, a project aimed at developing professional dialogue between artists and studios.

Nasser has established community, educational and socially oriented initiatives, teaches and lectures at South African universities and colleges, and works in television as a choreographer and director. She is also active as a producer and staging director. She has recently staged her award-winning production The Rite of Spring for the highly acclaimed Moving Into Dancecompany, marking her return to choreography after a 30-year absence.

She served on the jury of the Benois de la Danse International Ballet Prize (2025). Her many honours include the Outreach Award (1999).

Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey on Arts Affairs, Vice President of the International Federation of Ballet Competitions (IFBC)

Tan Sağtürk graduated from the Ankara State Conservatory of Hacettepe University and the Ballet Department of the İzmir State Conservatory of Dokuz Eylül University. He danced with Jeune Ballet de France and the Ballet de Nancy et de Lorraine.

In 1997–1998, he was a Principal Dancer with the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. He also created the ballet Sounds of the Heart.

Sağtürk founded ballet and dance schools in many regions of Türkiye, introducing generations of children to ballet and music.

Since 2023, he has served as Director General and Artistic Director General of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet. Since 2024, he has been Vice President of the International Federation of Ballet Competitions (IFBC).

He is a member of the advisory boards of Hacettepe University and the Ankara State Conservatory, and serves as an adviser to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye.

He received the Presidential Grand Award for Culture and Arts of Türkiye in 2022 and the Medal for Merit in Culture and the Arts of the Eurasian Foundation of Culture in 2024 (Almaty).

National Distinguished Arts Worker of China, Artistic Director of Shanghai Ballet, Vice Chair of the Shanghai Federation of Literary Circles, Chair of the Shanghai Dancers Association

After graduating with honours from the Shanghai Dance School in 1979, Lili Xin joined Shanghai Ballet, where she performed leading roles in numerous classical productions. Since 2001, she has served as Artistic Director of Shanghai Ballet.

She created the ballet The Butterfly Lovers and introduced and produced more than 20 original productions, including Jane Eyre, A Sigh of Love, Bright Red Star and Le Fantôme de ’ Opera, Lady of the Camellias, Hamlet,Swan Lake. Lili Xin has played a key role in shaping the “Shanghai Culture” brand and promoting Chinese ballet internationally.

She has served on the juries of many international ballet competitions, including Benois de la Danse. Lili Xin is a Second Prize laureate of the New York International Ballet Competition (1987) and Grand Prix winner of the Paris International Ballet Competition (1988).

Professor Emeritus of Korea National University of Arts, Artistic Director of the K-Global Ballet Institute

During her years at Korea National University of Arts, Sun Hee Kim trained numerous dancers who now perform with leading ballet companies, including the Paris National Opera Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet and The Royal Ballet. Among her students are Kimin Kim and Min-Hyong Jung of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Her teaching method combines the traditional Vaganova ballet system with Korean artistic traditions. She currently serves as Artistic Director of the K-Global Ballet Institute.

People’s Artist of Kazakhstan, Professor, Artistic Director of the Ballet Company of the Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Gulzhan Tutkibayeva graduated with honours from the Moscow Choreographic School in 1982 and in 2000 completed studies in choreography directing at the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh Institute of Theatre and Cinema under Zaurbek Raibayev. From 1982 to 2003, she was prima ballerina of the Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Her repertoire included leading roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Don Quixote, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Raymonda, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Zarema), Spartacus (Aegina), Carmen Suite, Juno and Avos and other ballets. She toured extensively across the CIS and abroad. Tutkibayeva’s choreographic works include Suite in Antique Style to music by Schnittke, Charlie to music by Shostakovich, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Legends of the Great Steppe to music by Kazakh composers, as well as new versions of classical ballets. She is Professor of Ballet Mastery at the Faculty of Choreography of the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts and has trained generations of dancers and choreographers.

Tutkibayeva is a laureate of the Tradition Prize International Competition chaired by Yuri Grigorovich (1998, Almaty).

Honoured Artist of Russia, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Ballet and Artistic Director of the Leonid Jacobson Ballet Theatre

Born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Andrian Fadeev graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1995, where he studied with Vladilen Semyonov. From 1995 to 2011, he danced with the Mariinsky Theatre, performing the leading classical repertoire as well as ballets by George Balanchine, Leonid Lavrovsky, Harald Lander, John Neumeier, William Forsythe and Christopher Wheeldon. John Neumeier created the principal role in Sounds of Empty Pages especially for him. As a guest principal dancer, Fadeev performed with the Berlin, Vienna, Bavarian and Rome Operas, as well as the National Theatres of Beijing and Tokyo. Since 2011, he has served as Artistic Director of the Leonid Jacobson Ballet Theatre in St. Petersburg. In 2024, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Ballet.

Fadeev is a laureate of the Vaganova-Prix International Ballet Competition (St. Petersburg, 1995), the Ballet magazine Soul of Dance Prize (2000, Rising Star), and the Leonide Massine International Prize (2006, Positano, Italy).

Kossuth Prize Laureate, Outstanding Artist of Hungary, Director of the Hungarian National Ballet

Tamás Solymosi studied at the Hungarian Dance Academy, the Vaganova Choreographic School in St. Petersburg, and the Princess Grace Academy in Monte Carlo. In the early 2000s, he also qualified as a teacher and choreographer. He was a principal dancer with the Vienna State Opera Ballet, D American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet and Semperoper Ballet in Dresden, and appeared as a guest soloist with companies in Miami, Chicago, Osaka and the Hungarian National Ballet. In 2006, Solymosi returned to Hungary and became Deputy Director of the Hungarian Dance Academy. In 2011, he was appointed Director of the Hungarian National Ballet. In 2016, within the Hungarian State Opera, he founded the Hungarian National Ballet Institute.

He served on the jury of the Benois de la Danse International Ballet Prize in Moscow. Among Solymosi’s many honours are the Kossuth Prize (2025), Outstanding Artist of Hungary Award (2018) and the Gyula Harangozó Prize (2001), Meritorious Artist of Hungary (2006), the Gyula Harangozó Prize (2001) and the Hungarian Dance EuroPAS Prize (1998).

People’s Artist of Russia, Laureate of the State Prizes of Russia, Full Cavalier of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, Founder and Artistic Director of the Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre

Born in Siberia in 1946, Boris Eifman graduated from the choreography department of the Rimsky-Korsakov Leningrad Conservatory in 1972. In 1977, he founded his own company, now known as The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg. Productions including Red Giselle, Russian Hamlet, Anna Karenina, Rodin, Her Eternal Idol, Beyond Sin, Tchaikovsky. PRO et CONTRA and The Seagull. A Ballet Story have been acclaimed by audiences across Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America. His ballets have also been staged in Berlin, Vienna, Warsaw, Riga, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Seoul, Astana, Budapest and other cities. In 2021, the first graduating class completed studies at the Boris Eifman Dance Academy, established to train universal dancers. In 2019, the Academy’s theatre venue was opened.

Among Eifman’s many honours are the Order of Honour (Russia, 2016), the Russian Federation Government Prize (2011), the Order of Arts and Letters of France (1999) and

the Golden Mask National Theatre Award (1996, 1999, 2016).