The Ballet Icons Gala returns to the London Coliseum on 15 February with its customary lineup of international ballet stars.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the presentations at the Coliseum celebrating “the rich heritage and future of ballet”.
The 2026 Gala features works by Edwaard Liang, Wayne McGregor, Angelin Preljocaj, Marco Goecke, Jason Kittelberger, Mthuthuzeli November and Jean-Christophe Maillot, with UK premieres together with repertoire classics. There are also two world premieres for works created for the 20th anniversary by Mthuthuzeli November, and James Pett and Travis Clausen Knight.
Founder and Artistic Director, Olga Balakeets, says:
It is a great source of pride for me to reach this milestone in a project that began 20 years ago, celebrating the 80th birthday of one of the world’s most renowned prima ballerinas and ballet icons, the legendary Maia Plisetskaya. Twenty years on, we are here discovering and presenting the new ballet icons of today, while at the same time showcasing the very best of this remarkable art form — ballet.
In collaboration with Vildwerk Foundation (a non-profit organisation dedicated to inspiring environmental conservation awareness through dance) the Gala will present a UK premiere of Asylum, a piece by Antonia Franceschi commenting on the environmental crisis.
The Gala will be accompanied by the English National Ballet Philharmonic Orchestra, and – breathe deeply – here is the latest (though ‘subject to change’) list of performers:
Eleanora Abbagnato, Ex-Paris Opera Ballet; Timofej Andrijashenko, La Scala Ballet; Antonio Casalinho, Vienna State Ballet; Young Gyu Choi, Dutch National Ballet; Sarah Chun, Northern Ballet; Reece Clarke, Royal Ballet; Travis Clausen-Knight, International Star Dancer; Leticia Dias, Royal Ballet; Margarita Fernandes, Vienna State Ballet; Francesco Gabriele Frola, San Francisco Ballet; Mathew Golding, International Star Dancer; Fumi Kaneko, Royal Ballet; Jason Kittelberger, International Star Dancer; Lucia Lacarra, International Star Dancer; Maia Makhateli, Dutch National Ballet; Nicoletta Manni, La Scala Ballet; Paul Marque, Paris Opera Ballet; Vadim Muntagirov, Royal Ballet; Marianela Núñez, Royal Ballet; Anna Nevzorova, English National Ballet; Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Royal Ballet; Natalia Osipova, Royal Ballet; Patricio Revé, Royal Ballet; Marcellino Sambé, Royal Ballet; Iana Salenko, Berlin State Ballet; Daniil Simkin, Berlin State Ballet; Akane Takada, Royal Ballet; Edward Watson, Ex-Royal Ballet; Madeline Woo, San Francisco Ballet.
Ballet Icons Global Artist Manager and Artistic Advisor, Marianna Gomes, says:
The dancers are extraordinary artists whose talent, artistry, and presence create true magic on stage. A stage filled with such stars needs no embellishment; their artistry alone is enough.
Tickets are available through the London Coliseum website: https://londoncoliseum.org/events/ballet-icons-gala-20th-anniversary/
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
I hope they pay the dancers this time right after the show, and not many months later. This has been a very annoying problem in recent years. Without dancers, there is no show!