Photo Coverage: Bolshoi Ballet's Olga Smirnova & Semyon Chudin Perform 'Grand Pas Classique'

The Stars of the 21st Century performance also featured the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Alicia Graf Mack and Jamar Roberts; Bolshoi Ballet’s Svetlana Zakharova, Olga Smirnova, and Semyon Chudin; Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Desmond Richardson; The Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet‘s Maria Shirinkina and Vladimir Shklyarov; National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine’s Katerina Chebykina and Denis Matvienko; Staatsballett Berlin‘s Elisa Cabrera, Nadijda Saidakova, VLADIMIR MALAKHOV, and Mikhail Kaniskin; and the Vienna State Opera Ballet’s Olga Esina and Eno Peci.

Stars of the 21st Century is an annual international ballet event that has taken to the stages of Paris, Cannes, Bucharest, Panama City, New York, Toronto, and Moscow to great acclaim bringing together unforgettable one night only events of international dance companies and unforgettable dancers. This year makes Stars of the 21st Century 20 anniversary (and the 15 anniversary of their annual Paris Gala event).

Their high standard of performances and acclaim was established with their 1993 Premier Ballet Gala, A Tribute to Alla Osipenko, the legendary dancer of the Kirov Ballet, followed by a Tribute Gala in Memory of Rudolf Nureyev in 1995.

In 1998 Stars of the 21st Century was staged at the prestigious Theatre des Champs-Elysee in Paris. This was followed by the enormously successful End of Millennium Ballet Gala des Etoiles du XXIe Siecle at Palais des Festivales in Cannes, France in 1999 and in 2000 the Millennium International Ballet Gala at Lincoln Center in New York. In 2010Stars of the 21st Century’s made it’s hugely successful premier in Moscow at the Kremlin Palace Theatre, as well as staging the Grand Opening Gala for the Sony Centre for Performing Arts in 2010. Continuing their tradition of leadership in international dance, in 2010, Stars of the 21st Century created the annual International Ballet Competition at the Instituto Nacional de Cultura in Panama. Expanding their focus in 1997, at the invitation of Luciano Pavarotti, Stars of the 21st Century created the World Opera Gala featuring winners of the 5th Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.

Solomon Tencer and his wife, Nadia Veselova Tencer, began their work together in 1992 and founded Solomon Tencer Productions in 1995. Nadia, who serves as both a business partner with Solomon as well as the artistic director is a graduate of the world-renowned Kirov Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. She has served as a judge at the Youth American Grand Prix, New York, and Prix Benois de la Danse, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. Her many awards include Outstanding Teacher, Youth American Grand Prix 2009. Nadia was named one of Dance Magazine’s “Master Teachers” in 1997.

For more information go to www.starsofthe21stcentury.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.