Anderson
Santana
Founder and Artistic Director of the Brussels International Ballet
Born in Brazil, Anderson Santana began his career at the National School of Rio de Janeiro, School Maria Olenewa of the Municipal Theater by Edmundo Carijo, and then joined the school of Tatiana Leskova, while intensively pursuing his studies with Aldo Lotuft & Moema Correa.
In 1985, the emerging dancer began his professional career with the Ballet Municipal de Campinas, in Brasil and danced as corps de ballet, demi-soloist, and soloist in Don Quichote, Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo & Juliette. It was during this year when the famous choreographer, In addition to his work with the company, continues his studies with Guillermo Borean.
It was in Rio de Janeiro this year that Maurice Béjart met Anderson and, impressed by his passion and dancing, invited him to Europe and offered him a contract.
Soon after, Anderson traveled to Europe and began his professional career in Switzerland, Scala Theatre in the “Broadway Musical Company from New York” where he completed his artistic style dancing in the European Tour of “West Side Story” (J.Robbins) and “Jesus Christ Superstar” (Lewis Robinson). In Europe, he continued to work with Merlin Brinnar and Vladimir Semievov. Then, he joined the Brussels Ratlas Dance Company in Belgium and met Timur Ratlas. He worked with Timur and was a soloist in “Le train, 17 Juillet”.
A year later, he joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders under the direction of Robert Denvers. Over the next years, he danced many different roles as a soloist in various ballets.
In the following years, Anderson joined different companies such as the Royal Ballet of Wallonie (Frédéric Flamand).
n 1998, Anderson choreographed his first ballet “Dark Evenings” and started as a classical ballet teacher in Boston, United States & studied the “Maria Fay’s method” in New York.
From 1999 until 2005, he made various creations for professional academies and solos for dancers. In 2003, he created a new Ballet “La rage des peuples”. Since that, Anderson choreographed over 50 variations.
Géraldine
Meslier
Géraldine started ballet training with Monique Bertagnol from Paris Opera Ballet. After wining 1st place at the International Ballet Competition of Houlgate (France), she joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium.
As soloist, she danced leading roles as Gisele and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and different roles from the Repertoire (Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, La Bayadère, La Fille mal gardée, Coppelia, Cinderella…).
She performed Balanchine’s pieces and worked with many choreographers as W. Forsythe, K. Pastor, X.P. Wang, A. Prokovsky, J. Lazzini, D. Dawson, R. Tanner, M. Wainrot, C. Soto… Since 2011, she’s teaching at National Conservatoire of Avignon (France) and graduated with a “Certificate of Aptitude”. She is also often invited as Guest teacher in International Ballet dance intensive courses.
Irina
Zavialova
Irina (Shapchits) Zavialova, received her ballet education at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, St. Petersburg from 1977 to 1985, under legendary teachers such as Natalia Dudinskaja, Konstantine Sergeev, and Adol Hamzin. From 1985 to 1991 she was a soloist and then principal in the Maly Theater, St Petersburg, and from 1991 to 1995 she was a principal in the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky Theater), St Petersburg. She then danced as a principal in Staatsoper Ballet Bonn (1995-1997), in Royal Ballet of Flanders (1997-2001), and with Peter Shaufuss Ballet (2001-2004). Irina Zavialova has been a guest dancer with Tokyo Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Essen Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and English National Ballet. In her repertoire, she danced Don-Quixot, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Le Corsaire, Les Sylphides, La Sylphide, Theme and Variations, Apollo, Serenade, La Fille Mal Gardèe, La Bayadére, Paquita, Nutcracker, Harlequinade, Legend of Love, Cinderella, and others.
She worked with choreographers like Oleg Vinogradov, Yuri Grigorovich, Konstantin Sergeev, Jean Christoph Mallot, Christopher D’Amboise, and Mauricio Wainrot. Irina Zavialova is a teacher of classical ballet and repertoire. From 2004 she was teaching in the National Conservatory of Dance in Lisbon, Portugal, where she was also coordinator of the Dance Department from 2009 to 2013. As an associate professor at the Academy of Dance, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, she will work with the students in the bachelor program in classical ballet.
Maia
Zurashivli
Education
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1973 V. Chabukiani Tbilisi Ballet Art State School
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1978-1980 The Vaganova Academy, Saint Petersburg
Experience
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1980 Principal Dancer of Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theatre
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2003-currently: Pedagogue-Repetiteur of State Ballet of Georgia, Tbilisi
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2003-currently: Pedagogue of Acting of V. Chabukiani Tbilisi Ballet Art State School
Ballet Performances in lead roles
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Don Quixote – composer: Ludwig Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, A. Gorsky, and V. Chabukiani
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La Bayadere – composer: Ludwig Minkus
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La Sylphide – composer: H. Lovenskiold
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Giselle – composer: Adolphe Adam, choreography and staging: M. Petipa
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Gorda – Georgian traditional ballet, composer: Toradze, choreography by V. Chabukiani
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Carmen Suite – composer: Bizet Shchedrin
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Gayane – composer: Aram Khachaturyan
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La Fille Mal Gardee – composer: P. Hertel
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Arabian Nights – composer: F. Amirov
Awards
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Baku International Ballet Competition (second place)
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Order of Honor
International Tours:
Japan, USA, Taiwan, Italy, Germany, Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Scotland, Ukraine, Russia
Masterclasses held at:
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Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
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National Opera of Ukraine
Michael Fuscaldo
I am the founder and artistic director of NAC Ballet and MGR events.
Dance teacher and choreographer.
My training took place in Italy and abroad, at the Staatliche Ballettschule in Berlin and the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet Chisinau, Moldova.
I worked for two seasons at the Albano’s Ballet Company, American ballet company based in Hartford and New York, and the Ariston Theatre in Sanremo with the Proballet company under the artistic direction of Marcello Algeri.
From a very young age, I felt the need to train also as a teacher of classical and contemporary dance.I felt the pleasure and the need to share and transmit technical and theoretical knowledge and values to young students, thus beginning to experiment with choreographic work, creating and refining my artistic language.
I strongly believe that dance is story and communication. A choreographic extract is life, experience, reflection, care, a precious gift that we give to our audience. I love experimenting, listening, observing, and searching for new forms.
I want to give daily smiles, opportunities to get involved, listen to your soul, seek your own artistic identity giving freedom.
I require sensitivity, attention to detail, consistency, fundamental factors for my research work in gestures. Superficiality, approximation, and impatience move away from the result.
NAC Ballet is my artistic house, founded in 2017, a choreographic reality based in the town of Chiavari, in the province of Genoa. A dance school with amateur, academic and professional courses, which has brought some students in prestigious international realities such as the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower (Cannes, France), Delattre Dance Company (Mainz, Germany), Otradanza (Alicante, Spain), Ballet de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), University Institute of
Dance Alicia Alonso (Madrid, Spain), Teatro La Scala (Millano, Italy) and more. I am also a teacher in important Italian training centres for contemporary dance, teacher for international events and choreographer for prestigious choreographers such as the Brussels International Ballet (Brussels, Belgium) and Co-leg, contemporary vocational training school
(Cologne, Germany). I was a guest choreographer at the Brussels International Ballet, directed by Anderson Santana, in 2019 with the creation "Be, become, believe", in 2022 with "Merci beaucoup" and also next summer 2023 with a new production.
In 2020 I created the short film "Karma", winner of numerous international festivals and also screened at the International
Tour Film Festival (Civitavecchia). Through "Karma", I won an artistic residency at the Museo d'arte Contemporanea Artiglieria in Turin, creating a new short film in 2021.
In 2022 I formed my dance group OUTdoor, creating two small productions: "Jeans" and "Because this must be", both
guests of the Festival "Black box", directed by Marco Batti and Piemonte dal vivo. Also in 2022, OUTdoor won the award as young emerging companies at the Premio Città di Genova.
In 2022 I received the prestigious Premio Eccellenza Italiana on the occasion of the International Tour Film Festival, presented by Coach Luca Papa. My choreographic work "Exhale", played by Aimee Moscrop was hosted at the Solocoreografico Festival, directed by Raffaele Irace.
"DIY", played by Elisa Ricci, will perform at Move Fest in Kosice (Slovakia).
"Desmadre", choreography created for my training center NAC Ballet, was selected for the prestigious Festival of dance in São Paulo (Brazil), next September. MGR Events is the organization of events in the world of dance founded by me, Grazia Tringale, and Rina Cilotti. As artistic director, I am responsible for the selection of teachers, exponents of choreographic realities, European academies, and dance companies in prestigious theaters.
Those who attend our events thank us for the professionalism, correctness, observance and punctuality, factors that distinguish the MGR events. We defend the quality work, awarding cash prizes, and we offer young talents real opportunities for study, through employment contracts, scholarships and professional training.
We are projected towards the Italian and foreign scene, our event Gate 8 workshop is the example, with the participation of 12 nations and professional dancers from all over the world.
Kazuko
Sumimoto
Kazuko Sumimoto started her ballet education in 1979 at the Tokiwa Ballet School in Tokyo, Japan. Between 1981-1984 she attended the Momoko Ballet School where she studied the Vaganova method. She continued her training with famous teachers, former soloists, and principals of renowned companies in Japan and Europe.
From 1984 to 1996, she worked as a professional dancer with the Momoko-Tani Ballet Company in Tokyo and danced in various classical production such as Don Quichotte, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Giselle, and The Sylphides. She worked with the Japan Ballet Association and participated in various Ballet Festivals in Japan as a guest dancer.
In 2005 she started teaching at the former Mandorla Ballet School in Brussels, Belgium, where she first met Anderson Santana who was the Director of the school. Anderson and Kazuko founded Brussels International Ballet School at a new location in 2011.
She is not only the co-founder and vice director but also one of the motivated teachers of BIB's artistic team, regularly coaching students for ballet competitions and is currently the main rehearsal mistress of the Professional Training Program.
Olga
Iakovlevskaya
Olga is a renowned and respected ballet master from St. Petersburg, Russia, who has brought her talent and love of ballet to Europe, Canada, and the USA.
She graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 1978. Olga’s main mentor, Ninel Petrova, was one of the favorite students of the famous Agrippina Vaganova. While performing in the State Theatre of Choreographic Miniatures of Leonid Jacobson, the company of the greatest choreographer of the 20th century, in St. Petersburg, Olga mastered a versatile and very rich repertoire. She performed pure classical ballet numbers as well as modern, character, or grotesque dances.
The knowledge and skills she has gained helped her to become an in-demand teacher in Belgium where she moved to in 1993. Olga worked as a classical ballet teacher at the Royal Ballet School Antwerp and as a Guest-teacher in various ballet schools in Belgium and the Netherlands. Later, she continued her career as a Senior Classic Ballet Instructor at the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver, Canada, and as the Artistic Director of the Professional Training Program at San Jose Youth Ballet, CA, USA. Olga is a recognized Guest-teacher and she taught in various International Ballet Summer Programs in Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia.
Olga has numerous letters of appreciation for her contribution to the development of cultural relations between Belgium and Russia; she was even awarded a medal “In honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg” by the Russian Government. The Patriarch Alexey II of Moscow and All of Russia, the EU, UNICEF, Help Kids and the Government of Belgium, the City of Antwerp, and the City of Saint Petersburg has recognized her.
Olga was awarded the diploma and medal “The Best Teacher Award” in recognition of outstanding technical and artistic merit at the 2018 World Ballet Competition Finals held in Orlando, Florida, USA. And most recently Olga received the “Outstanding Teacher 2019 Award, Young American Grand Prix”.
Olga is a classical ballet teacher at the Brussels International Ballet and she is the founder of the Petipa Marathon project.
Ciro
Carcatella
Ciro Carcatella: choreographer, dancer and teacher, lives in Brussels. He is interested in historical evolution theories of dance techniques. He trained at the school of the Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, at the academy Princesse Grace de Monaco and the Mudra school in Brussels. He danced for Jorge Donn, for the Ulmer company ballet by Philipe Talard, Thor company by Thierry Smits and for Charlerois Danse with Fréderic Flamand.
He participates in interdisciplinary projects, and often collaborates with the musical group Noise Maker's Fifes.
In 1992, Carcatella won the silver medal at the international dance competition in the city of Paris.
He receives a choreographic study grant from the French ministry for his professional training in Frankfurt
at William Forsythe, in Stockolm at Mats Ek and in Den Haag at Jiri Kilyan.