George Balanchine is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. St Petersburg-born Balanchine had both the music and dance of Russia in his blood. Extensive musical training put him on equal grounds in communicating with great composers and enabled him to reduce orchestral scores on the piano, which is an invaluable aid in translating music into dance. Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classical, de-emphasising plot in ballets and preferring to let ‘dance be the star of the show’. In his lifetime, he created 465 works, including Jewels as one of the renowned pieces

©The George Balanchine Trust

An active choreographer for over 45 years, William Forsythe is renowned for redefining ballet in the 21^st century. His interest in fundamental principles of organisation led him to produce numerous projects, including installations, films and web-based knowledge creations.

Appointed Resident Choreographer in 1976 and Director of the Ballet Frankfurt during 1984 - 2004, Forsythe then founded and directed The Forsythe Company until 2015. His earlier works have been danced by every major ballet company worldwide. More recently, Forsythe created original works for the Paris Opera Ballet, English National Ballet and Boston Ballet and the internationally acclaimed A Quiet Evening of Dance by Sadler’s Wells Theatre (London).

©Stephan Floss

Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis has danced with Bejart Ballet and Lyon Opera Ballet. He has created works for dance companies like Martha Graham Dance Company, Rambert and Geneva Ballet, choreographed for operas and films and collaborated with Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He was Greek National Opera Ballet’s Artistic Director and is currently the Artistic Director of his own dance group Apotosoma. Accolades include Best Choreography by Italian magazine Danza&Danza and Greek Critics Union.

©Peter Greig