Former Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Kirov Ballet; favorite partner of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev, Irina Kolpakova is widely recognized as one of the finest ballerinas of the last half-century. Ms. Kolpakova was the last pupil of Agrippina Vaganova, architect of the famed Vaganova System of modern ballet education. She joined the Kirov in 1950 and danced leading roles in all the major ballets including The Sleeping Beauty, Stone Flower, Legend of Love, The Creation of the World, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Romeo and Juliet, Les Sylphides, Othello, Giselle, Cinderella, Don Quixote, and La Bayadère. She was the undisputed star of the Kirov’s first tours to the United States in 1961 and 1964, enchanting audiences as the Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, a role in which she was regarded as the definitive interpreter of our time.Ms. Kolpakova has garnered many prestigious awards including the rarely bestowed People’s Artist of the Soviet Union, and the Paris-based Anna Pavlova Prize. She is a remarkable teacher and coach, and has served as a jurist in international ballet competitions in Russia, Japan, and the United States. Prior to joining Ballet Internationale, Ms. Kolpakova was a ballet mistress at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, and she continues periodically to coach that company.

As a Premier Danseur of the Kirov Ballet, Mr. Semenov danced leading roles in many major ballets such as Romeo and Julie, Giselle, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai. After retiring from the stage, he became a master pedagogue at the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theater, teaching the daily class for soloists and coaching those dancers in leading roles. From 1970 to 1972 Mr. Semenov was the Kirov Ballet’s Artistic Director as well as its Principal Teacher. Concurrently he also served as Principal Faculty at St. Petersburg’s Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet from 1964 to 1997, training two generations of male Kirov dancers. In the course of his career he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the Soviet Union, the country’s highest artistic honor. Since joining The Noyes Academy, Mr. Semenov has transformed the caliber of instruction offered by the Academy. At the 2004 and 2005 Youth America Grand Prix Competition in Chicago, the Academy received this region’s “Outstanding School” award and in 2005, placed third out of fifty-six schools from around the world at the finals in New York City. Graduates of this program have been invited to join Ballet Internationale’s professional company. Mr. Semenov also serves as company teacher and coach.

Tatiana Pali achieved stardom as a Prima Ballerina with the Moscow Classical Ballet, garnering numerous international awards for her performances in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Creation of the World, Paquita, and many others. She won the gold medal at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, received the August Bournonville prize from the Paris Ballet Academy, was acclaimed with the title “Honored Artist of Russia” and was named as “Best Ballerina of the Year in Moscow” in 1991. Ms. Pali is regularly featured in international galas and participated with other gold medalists in the Russian All-Stars Super Gala in Tokyo. Indianapolis audiences have enjoyed Ms. Pali in many leading roles including Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, as well as leading roles in Coppelia, La Sylphide, Giselle, The Creation of the World, and many others. In April 2000, Ms. Pali retired as Principal Dancer with Ballet Internationale by offering a magnificent and unforgettable performance as Scheherazade in A Thousand and One Nights. She continues to assist in the artistic direction of the company and is a member of the faculty of The Clara R. Noyes Academy of Ballet Internationale. In January 2004 she was named Outstanding Teacher at the Youth America Grand Prix Competition in Chicago.

Eldar Aliev was born in Baku, Azerbaijan and was admitted into the State Baku Choreographic Academy at the age of nine where he graduated with honors. Upon graduation, he was invited to join the renowned Kirov Ballet in Russia where he was a Principal Dancer for thirteen years. He toured with the Kirov Ballet, Yekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Vasiliev and the Stars of the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballets and with the Galaxy of Russian Ballet series performing in the most prominent theaters in over thirty countries worldwide. With his commanding presence and unique interpretation of lead roles in classics such as Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Spartacus, Don Quixote, La Bayadere and others, Eldar Aliev quickly became a Kirov favorite and sought-after guest star performing with numerous companies including the Bolshoi Ballet and The Australian Ballet and regularly dancing as a featured performer in gala events throughout Europe, Asia, America and Australia. Eldar Aliev is also well known for his performances in several commercial video tapes such as Kirov in London, Kirov's Classics, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire and Pas De Deux in White Night. Eldar Aliev moved to the United States in 1992 to join Ballet Internationale in Indianapolis, Indiana where he believed his long term artistic contribution to the company and ballet would be most apparent. Aliev's vast expertise and experience in classical ballet quickly catapulted him through the ranks and in 1994 he was named Artistic Director. While with Ballet Internationale, he earned international critical acclaim for his remarkable choreographic talent. Aliev’s newly choreographed, time-honored classics Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, and The Firebird and his new, incredibly stunning, theatrical ballet A Thousand and One Nights garnered critical acclaim from international dance critics and standing ovations from audiences worldwide. His new choreography and libretto for The Nutcracker has received nationwide recognition as a highly artistic contribution to the world of ballet with its ever-growing popular broadcasts by PBS stations nationwide reaching seventy-nine markets in 2005 including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta. In addition, Aliev is a world recognized adjudicator of international ballet competitions serving as jurist for the inaugural 2002 International Ballet Competition in Prague and returned to Seoul, South Korea for the second consecutive year in 2005 where he was both jurist and member of the International Regulations Committee. Aliev continues his work touring the world creating new choreography, staging classical repertoire and teaching with distinguished companies such as The Royal Swedish Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Ballet of Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Gala des Etoiles, the largest and most prestigious dance gala, where he is the artistic advisor and sole teacher of all performers.

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