2025 Guest Artists
Liudmila Konovalova
Liudmila’s mother, a ballet enthusiast, enrolled her in auditions for The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, where she was accepted and embarked on rigorous training. However, her adolescence was marked by profound challenges: at 15, she and her brother were placed in an orphanage, followed by the loss of their mother the next year. Amidst these challenges, Liudmila’s dedication to dance became a means of survival and support for her brother.
Liudmila’s career progressed further in 2007 when she joined the Staatsballett Berlin, becoming a soloist in 2009. In Berlin, she continued to showcase her exceptional skill in principal roles across various choreographers’ works such as Vladimir Malakhov’s Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty (in which she danced with Vladimir himself), Patrice Bart’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia, and many more. Her journey then led her to the Wiener Staatsballett in 2010 as a soloist, and she has been a prima ballerina since 2011.
With the Wiener Staatsballett, Liudmila’s extensive repertoire features leading roles such as Odette/Odile in Rudolf Nureyev’s Swan Lake, Clara in Nureyev’s The Nutcracker, the title role in Nureyev’s Raymonda, Medora and Gulnare in Manuel Legris’s Le Corsaire, Princess Perdita in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale, and the list goes on. Notably, she has also appeared in the prestigious Vienna New Year’s Concert. Beyond her company work, Liudmila has also appeared as a guest principal dancer with esteemed companies throughout Europe, North America, South America and Asia, such as the Ballet de l’Opéra National de Bordeau, the Slovenské Národné Divadlo, the Teatro dell´Opera di Roma and the Tokyo Ballet.
Liudmila’s career highlights go beyond the stage. In 2024, she collaborated with fashion designer Veronika Jeanvie for Paris Fashion Air, seamlessly blending the worlds of fashion and ballet as she embodied grace and elegance in striking attire and pointe shoes. In 2025, she demonstrated her dedication to inclusivity by participating in a dance festival with Ich bin O.K., a cultural and educational association for people with and without disabilities. Furthermore, Liudmila shares her expertise by coaching young dancers through summer intensive courses and master classes, nurturing the talent of tomorrow.
Mayara Magri
Brazilian dancer Mayara Magri is a Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, she began her training at the age of eight at The Petite Danse School of Dance, after receiving a scholarship. She went on to win the Senior Age Division of the Youth America Grand Prix, as well as the Prix de Lausanne Scholarship and Audience Prize in 2011.
Following her success at the Prix de Lausanne, Magri joined The Royal Ballet School for one year before graduating into The Royal Ballet Company in 2012. She was promoted to Soloist in 2016, First Soloist in 2018, and Principal Dancer in 2021.
She is a certified ballet teacher through The Royal Ballet School’s Teacher Training Programme, having completed her certification in 2022. Magri is a Global Ambassador for Grishko (pointe shoes), an Ambassador for the Fonteyn Competition 2025, and the commissioned choreographer for the 2025 edition of the Fonteyn Competition hosted in São Paulo, Brazil.
Valentino Zuchetti
Italian dancer Valentino Zucchetti is a First Soloist of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and on graduation joined Zürich Ballet. He joined the Company in 2010, promoted to First Artist in 2011, Soloist in 2012 and First Soloist in 2014.
Zucchetti was born in Calcinate and began training locally aged four. Aged 11 he moved to Milan to study at La Scala Ballet School. Aged 16 he was offered a scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet Upper School and while there won the 2006 Genée International Ballet Competition and the 2007 Solo Seal award. In his final year he created a role in Christopher Hampson’s Three Dialogues for the School’s annual matinee. He subsequently joined Zürich Ballet and moved to Norwegian National Ballet in 2009. His repertory in Zürich and Oslo included Gurn (La Sylphide) and Prince (The Nutcracker). Zucchetti’s repertory with The Royal Ballet includes Bottom, Puck (The Dream), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Rhapsody, blue boy (Les Patineurs), Lescaut (Manon), Brother Clown (The Winter’s Tale), Gypsy Girl’s Lover (The Two Pigeons), Lensky (Onegin), Espada (Don Quixote), Hilarion (Giselle), Hans-Peter and Prince (The Nutcracker), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Bronze Idol (La Bayadère), Lead Hungarian Officer (Mayerling), Bluebird (The Sleeping Beauty), Fool (The Prince of the Pagodas) and roles in Requiem, Danses concertantes, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Tarantella, Jewels, The Human Seasons, Scènes de ballet, Symphonic Variations, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse, Within the Golden Hour, Dances at a Gathering and Voices of Spring. He has created roles for Carlos Acosta, Kim Brandstrup, David Dawson, Alastair Marriott, Liam Scarlett, Heinz Spoerli and Christopher Wheeldon, among others.
Zucchetti won the School’s Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award in 2005. He choreographed Sonata for Six for the School’s 2013 matinee and regularly creates pieces for The Royal Ballet’s Draft Works. In 2013 he choreographed Orbital Motion for New English Ballet Theatre. His 2020 ballet Scherzo for The Royal Ballet received the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance. His ballet Anemoi created for the Main Stage of the Royal Opera House received its world premiere in June 2021 and won the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography in 2022. In 2022, he created Prima for The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration.
2025 Company - Dancers Spring
José Alves
Born in Brazil, José started ballet at the age of 13 at the Adalgisa Rolim Ballet School. In 2007 he joined the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil and graduated in 2008.
In 2010 he attended the Youth American Grand Prix in New York, where he was awarded a scholarship to train with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company. José joined Ballet Black for the 2012/13 season and was promoted to Senior Artist in 2014. He has danced in original choreography by Javier de Frutos, Will Tuckett, Ludovic Ondiviela and created the roles of Demetrius and Bottom in A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream by Arthur Pita, and The Son in Mark Bruce’s Second Coming. José then joined Polski Teatr Tańca (Polish Dance Theatre) for a year before returning to Ballet Black in September 2016. In 2017, José was featured in the Company’s revival of Martin Lawrance’s
Captured and created the role of Grandma, danced en pointe, in Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Red Riding Hood. In 2018, José danced the role of Oberon in A Dream Within A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Arthur Pita) and created the role of Philemon in Cathy Marston’s The Suit, for which he won the 2018 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Classical Dancer. Between 2019 and 2021, José danced in new ballets by Sophie Laplane, Mthuthuzeil November, Peter Leung, Will Tuckett and Martin Lawrance.
Rebecca Arias
Rebecca began her studies at the age of 13 at the Conservatory Carmen Amaya in Madrid, where she graduated with honors in 2022, one year ahead of schedule.
She then went on to refine her technique at Estudio María de Ávila in Zaragoza, training under Lola de Ávila herself for a year, before being accepted into The Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program. During her time there, she performed various repertoire pieces, including Arpino’s Kettentanz as part of his centennial celebration, and had the opportunity to work with a range of esteemed choreographers such as Martha Nichols and Houston Thomas.
After a year, she returned to Madrid and began freelancing, performing in shows with Víctor Jiménez Creations and CIA Ismael Olivas, while continuing her training at various studios, including Madrid Dance Center. Toward the end of the season, she took classes with a teacher from her conservatory whom she greatly admires, and who helped her prepare for this new season with New English Ballet Theatre.
Luca De Poli
Luca De-Poli, a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, began his ballet training at Ballet Florida’s school under Marie Hale and at A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts under Jan Goetz.
He went on to earn his BFA in Ballet from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he trained under Jiang Qi and Dierdre Carberry. Luca began his professional career with Cincinnati Ballet in 2014, performing for a decade in both classical and contemporary repertoire. His credits include works by George Balanchine, Ohad Naharin, Jirí Kylián, Justin Peck, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Nicolo Fonte, among many others. He has performed principal and featured roles such as Zeus in Eros Redux and the title role in Carmina Burana.
Most recently, Luca danced with BalletX and New English Ballet Theatre in London. Now based in Birmingham, UK, where he continues to explore creative projects.
Louis DeFelice
Louis studied under Stanislav Issaev and graduated from the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC.
He was most recently a company member with New Jersey Ballet, performing as a principal in Robbins’ Fancy Free, a soloist in Balanchine’s Rubies, and originating a part in the premier of Lauren Lovette’s Jewel Box. He also tours in Europe and the US as a guest artist in shows including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. He is from Columbia, South Carolina and is the co-founder of the dancewear company Barre Trash.
Zhaklin Gudeva
Zhaklin is a classically trained Bulgarian ballet dancer who recently graduated from the prestigious Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Born in Varna in 2005, she began her dance education at the National School of Arts in Varna before being accepted into one of the world’s most respected ballet institutions.Throughout her training, Zhaklin worked under the guidance of esteemed teachers such as Paola Vismara, Emanuela Tagliavia, Walter Madau, and Elisa Scala, refining her technique across both classical and contemporary styles. Her stage experience includes performances in Cinderella, Fille mal gardée, Guillaume Tell and Etudes, among others, on the iconic stage of Teatro alla Scala.
She has toured internationally with the academy, appearing in The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House in Muscat and The Nutcracker at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari. Zhaklin also featured in a RAI Television production during the Venice Carnival and regularly performed in institutional ballet galas throughout her studies. Zhaklin is a passionate and dedicated artist. She is committed to continuous growth as a performer and aims to bring beauty, depth, and emotion to every role she embodies. Her dream is to pursue a global career in professional dance.
Paul Meneu
Born in Brittany, France, Paul trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School for 6 years, where he performed several productions and international tours with the company. He then joined the Junior Ballet of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse in Lyon, France where he performs various works by José Martinez, Bruno Bouché and Ohad Naharin.
Moving to England in 2021, Paul joins Ballet Theatre UK where he performs corps de ballet and soloist roles in Christopher Moore’s The Snow Queen, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, as well as Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
He also performs in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella and Derek Dean’s Swan Lake with English National Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall.
In 2024, Paul joins The Croatian National Ballet in Split where he performs Laurencia and The Nutcracker before joining New English Ballet Theatre for the Spring season 2025, dancing in Valentino Zuchetti’s Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hecules for the London Haendel Festival.
Audrey Nelson
Audrey began her training at North Shore School of Dance in Highland Park, Illinois at the age of 3. In the Fall of 2020, Audrey joined the Joffrey Ballet Academy Conservatory program in Chicago IL and was soon promoted to a Trainee in 2021. After one year as a trainee, Audrey was promoted to The Joffrey Ballet Studio Company in 2022, dancing in the studio company for two years. During her time at Joffrey, Audrey had the opportunity to perform with the main company in productions of Christopher Wheeldon’s The Nutcracker, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, and John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid.
In May 2024, Audrey worked with English National Ballet as a short term member of the corps de ballet, performing in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake in the Round. Later that summer she joined Grand Rapids Ballet in Michigan, working with them for the 2024/25 season. Audrey has also returned to the Joffrey Ballet on short term guest contracts to perform Cathy Marston’s Atonement and Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Emily Pohl
Emily is an accomplished ballet artist with a First-Class BA (Hons) from the Central School of Ballet and training with the English National Ballet Professional Trainee Programme.
They have performed with companies including English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Vienna Festival Ballet, taking on soloist and corps de ballet roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. A BBC Young Dancer semi-finalist, Emily has worked with esteemed choreographers such as Christopher Marney, Wayne McGregor, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.
Nicholas Rose
Nicholas is a Bahamian-American artist born in West Palm Beach, Florida. He trained at The HARID Conservatory and the Colburn Dance Academy, studying with Jenifer Ringer, James Fayette, and Zippora Karz, and performing Balanchine works such as Who Cares and Agon. At 18, he began his professional career with Ohio Contemporary Ballet, choreographing for Fresh Inventions and debuting in Spring Waters.
Nicholas was recruited by Arthur Mitchell to join Dance Theatre of Harlem, performing soloist roles in works by Nacho Duato, Ulysses Dove, Robert Garland, George Balanchine, Francesca Harper, and Glen Tetley, touring 36 U.S. cities and three European countries. He was later invited by Aretha Franklin to perform at her private holiday party. He was then recruited to join the Corps de Ballet at the National Ballet of Canada, performing featured roles in Anna Karenina (Neumeier), The Second Detail (Forsythe), and Piano Concerto No. 1 (Ratmansky), and danced A Midsummer Nights Dream (Ashton), Sleeping Beauty (Nureyev) and Etudes (Lander). As a choreographer and international guest teacher, Nicholas has premiered work across Europe, Africa, and North America.
Marcos Silva
A graduate of the Bolshoi Theater School of Brazil and the Viviane Gomes Dance Center, he performed as a dancer with the Adriana Assaf Paulista Dance Company. He furthered his training at the Chicago Ballet Conservatory, where he performed in the season of The Nutcracker.
He was a finalist and participant in major international competitions, including the 41st Lausanne Prize in Switzerland (2013), the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and the VKIBC in New York, where he won the Best Performer award and the Gold Medal. He also placed among the top 12 in the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and received the title of Best Dancer at the Joinville Dance Festival in Brazil.
Hiroki Takano
Born in Japan, Hiroki began his ballet training at the age of five. He joined the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Academy in 2017 and became a member of Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre in 2022.
He has performed in the company’s repertoire of works by Kenneth MacMillan and Frederick Ashton, including Concerto, Elite Syncopations, Solitaire, The Four Seasons, Two Pigeons, and Les Rendezvous. He also danced the role of the Second Red Knight in Ninette de Valois’ Checkmate. In 2019, Hiroki also received the Chacott Special Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dance Japan’s International Summer School in Tokyo, part of the East Asia Cultural Cities program, which he felt was an invaluable opportunity to work with international teachers and dancers, he felt particularly inspired by Gerard Charles, Hilary Kaplan, and Matthew Paluch, and found Adrian Burnett’s contemporary classes especially engaging and insightful.
Shynggys Tolegen
Maidie Widmer
Maidie was born and raised in Ballarat, a regional town in Victoria Australia, she began dancing at the age of four. She moved to Melbourne to pursue full time training at The Australian Ballet School in 2017 and successfully graduated in 2020 with an offer to join The Australian Ballet in 2021. With The Australian Ballet she enjoyed performing some incredible repertoire, such as Anna Karenina, Artifact Suite and Harlequinade with George Balachine’s Serenade being a particular highlight.
In May 2022 she undertook a short tour to Europe on a scholarship she received during her graduate year where she took class with companies such as Staatsballet Berlin and Royal Danish Ballet, which inspired her to make the move to the UK later that year.
Since being in London she has enjoyed classes with Norwegian National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and English National Ballet and worked on contract with Birmingham Royal Ballet for their Nutcracker and Swan Lake seasons She has performed soloist roles in other touring companies throughout the UK and extended her experience by working in film and theatre too. She has just completed working with New English Ballet Theatre in their Spring shows and was the recipient of the ‘Lynne and Land Emerging Dancer Award’.
Leila Wright
With a strong foundation from Elmhurst Ballet School and performance experience with English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, Leila Wright has worked on productions including Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Her adaptability and artistry have also led to collaborations with Studio Wayne McGregor and feature film work as a dance and stunt double.
Aurora Zacutti
Aurora Zacutti is 18 years old, Italian and began studying classical and modern dance at the age of 5 at a local private school. In 2021, she moved to Barcelona, Spain, to pursue her dream and begin professional training at the Barcelona Ballet Project (BBP), directed by Gino Labate and Emanuela Campiciano. She stayed in Barcelona for 4 years, obtaining a comprehensive training in both classical and contemporary dance. She also joined “BBP the Company,” performing in both Italy and Spain, allowing her to further develop her skills.
2024 Company
Dancers Autumn
Livi Boyd
Ana Carolina Freire
Genevieve Heron
Tamara Hinson
Ella Mansford
Tara Millard
Emily Pohl
José Alves
Jerome Barnes
Theo Greenfield
Ben Randall
Dancers Summer
Livi Boyd
Ana Carolina Freire
Genevieve Heron
Tamara Hinson
Ella Mansford
Emily Pohl
José Alves
Jerome Barnes
Noah Benzie-Drayton
Dan Corthorn
Jethro Paine
Ben Randall
Aitor Viscarolasaga Lopez
2023 Company
Livi Boyd
Ana Carolina Freire
Genevieve Heron
Alice Higginbottom
Tamara Hinson
Casey Nokomis Pereira
Noah Benzie-Drayton
Eric Caterer Cave
Dan Corthorn
Mischa Goodman
George Leatherby
Alexander Nuttall (guest)
Nicholas Vavrečka
2022 Company
Dancers Autumn
Livi Boyd
Giorgia Capogna
Genevieve Heron
Tamara Hinson
Natalia Kerner
Demelza Lesage
Mayuko Suzuki
Eric Caterer Cave
Mischa Goodman
Xholindi Muçi
Dylan Springer
Aitor Viscarolasaga Lopez
Dancers Summer
Olivia Boyd
Giorgia Capogna
Jill D’Haene
Genevieve Heron
Tamara Hinson
Natalia Kerner
Demelza Lesage
Camino Llonch
Mayuko Suzuki
Eric Caterer Cave
Dan Corthorn
Mischa Goodman
Tim Morgenstern
Xholindi Muçi
Dylan Springer
Aitor Viscarolasaga Lopez
2021 Company
Genevieve Heron
Camino Llonch
Orlando Bond
Dan Corthorn
Patrick Gill
Apprentices
Olivia Boyd
Giorgia Capogna
Jill D’Haene
Mayuko Suzuki
Kevin Alsina
James Garrington
Xholindi Muçi
2020 Company
Remedios Agustín Castaño
Anette Antal
Genevieve Heron
Mathilde Lambert
Demelza Lesage
Camino Llonch
Lian Sanchez Castro
Flavio Altieri
Ted Blackburn
Orlando Bond
Dan Corthorn
Gabriele Memoli
2019 Company
Marianne Allen
Anette Antal
Ermelinda Giacometti
Camino Llonch
Marta Rivero de Miranda
Kevin Bhoyroo
Dan Corthorn
Mario Gaglione
Alexander Nuttall
Dean Rushton
Aitor Viscarolasaga Lopez
2018 Company
Sophie Alnatt
Giuditta Banchetti
Camilla Chiesi
Ermelinda Giacometti
Alessia Lugoboni
Christina Rebecca Gibbs
Kevin Bhoyroo
Lorenzo Epifani
Benjamin Holloway
Andrea Marcelletti
Alexander Nuttall
Dean Rushton
Aitor Viscarolasaga Lopez
2017 Company
Giuditta Banchetti
Sarah Farnsley
Madeleine Green
Elena Hibberd
Maria Martins
Hannah Sofo
Giulio Galimberti
Alexander Nuttall
James Parratt
Matthieu Quincy
Seamus Wilkinson
2016 Company
Zoe Arshamian
Alexandra Cameron-Martin
Bethany Headland
Nicola Henshall
Cecilia Pacillo
Hannah Sofo
Isabella Swietlicki
Diogo Barbosa
Giulio Galimberti
Nathan Hunt
Pablo Luque Romero
Alexander Nuttall
Riccardo Rodighiero
Seamus Wilkinson
2015 Company
Hayley Blackburn
Alexandra Cameron-Martin
Fiona Cameron-Martin
Helena Enguidanos
Chantelle Gotobed
Mariá Huguet Planas
Chloe Anais Lopes Gomes
Emma Lucibello
Alessia Lugoboni
Arianna Marchiori
Simona Marsibilio
Abigail Mattox
György Baan
Niklas Blomkvist
Ivan Delgado del Rio
Joshua Harriette
Paul Oliver
Curtis Pooley
Matthieu Quincey
Silas Stubbs
Joshua Woodhams
2014 Company
Hayley Blackburn
Jessica Clyde
Mercedes Schindler
Yvonne Slingerland
Francesca Tennant
Justine Wisznia
György Baán
Joshua Barwick
Lorenzo Bernardi
Niklas Blomqvist
Ludovico Di Ubaldo
Matthieu Quincey
Silas Stubbs
2013 Company
Sophie Allnatt
Christina Cecchini
Jessica Clyde
Isabella Gasparini
Daniela Giannuzzi
Francesca Tennant
Justine Wisznia
György Baán
Joshua Barwick
Lorenzo Bernardi
Jack Cussans
Fabio Lo Giudice
Valerio Polverari
2012 Company
Hayley Blackburn
Katya Bourvis
Anita Bradshaw
Africa Brau Garcia
Eugenia Brezzi
Georgina Rose Connolly
Tiffany Goggin
Chiaki Korematsu
Sonoya Mizuno
Elsa Nguyen Trong
Ryoko Yagyu
Iván Delgado del Río
Jean-François Gabet
Alexander Nuttall
Daniel Pratt
Luca Rapis
Nicolas Scheuer
Silas Stubbs
Jack Thorpe-Baker
Ludovico di Ubaldo