Rossen Milanov stammt aus Bulgarien. Er studierte an der Bulgarischen Musikakademie, der Duquesne University, der Juillard School und am Curtis Institute of Music. Er ist Chefdirigent des Princeton Symphony Orchestra und des amerikanischen Orchesters «Symphony in C». Kürzlich beendete er nach 11 Jahren seine Amtszeit beim Philadelphia Orchestra als Associate Conductor und Artistic Director des Mann Center of the Performing Arts. Mit dem Philadelphia Orchestra gastierte er in namhaften Konzertsälen und führte u.a. Puccinis La Bohème auf. Er dirigierte zahlreiche Konzerte mit einer Reihe weiterer amerikanischer Orchester wie dem National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, dem Rochester Philharmonic, dem St. Paul Chamber Orchestra und den Sinfonieorchestern von Baltimore, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New Jersey, San Antonio und Seattle. Auch im Fernen Osten ist Rossen Milanov regelmässig zu Gast, u.a. beim Hyogo Symphony, Japan, beim Hong Kong Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, NHK Symphony, China Philharmonic, Singa-pore Symphony und dem Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Er gastiert beim Royal Scottish National Orchestra, dem BBC Symphony Or-chestra, dem Scottish Chamber Orchestra, den Rotterdamer Philharmonikern, dem Orchestre de la Suisse Romande und dem Orchester der Royal Swedish Opera. An der Komischen Oper Berlin dirigierte er Schostakowitschs Lady Macbeth von Mzensk. Rossen Milanov war von 2003 bis 2008 Chefdirigent des Nationalen Bulgarischen Radioorchesters, mit dem er Vesselina Kasarova bei einer Europa-Tournee begleitete. 2005 wurde er in Bulgarien zum «Musiker des Jahres» gewählt. Für das Brahms-Ballett Rättika arbeitete er erstmals mit Mats Ek zusammen. Bereits 2012 dirigierte Mats Eks Sleeping Beauty am Opernhaus Zürich.

Erik Berglund kommt aus Schweden und arbeitet seit über 25 Jahren als Lichtdesigner für Tanz, Oper und Theater. Eine enge Zusammenarbeit verband ihn mit Mats Ek, für dessen Ballette Solo for Two, Lägenhet, Fluke, Aluminium, Ställe und Rättika er das Lichtdesign kreierte. Zu seinen jüngsten Produktionen zählen Carmen (Regie: Johanna Garpe) an der Royal Opera in Stockholm, Your Passion Is Pure Joy To Me (Choreografie: Stijn Celis) beim Staatsballett Berlin und Le Sacre du printemps (Choreografie: Mario Schröder) beim Leipziger Ballett.

Chinese-American dancer Yen Han studied with Stefan Mucsi and Paul Maure in Los Angeles, at the Hartford Ballet School, at the San Francisco Ballet, and at the Beijing Dance Academy. After engagements with the Jeune Ballet de France and the Ballet de Nice, she was engaged as a principal dancer in the Ballett Zürich in 1994, where she has proven to be one of the most versatile and charismatic dancers in a variety of leading roles. Heinz Spoerli choreographed Le Sacre du printemps, Peer Gynt, Daphnis et Chloé, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for her. She worked with Mats Ek on Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), and at the Royal Swedish Opera on Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Other important choreographers she has worked with include Nicholas Beriozoff, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Mauro Bigonzetti, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Patrice Bart, Lin Hwai Min, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Martin Schläpfer, and Filipe Portugal. She has been seen in works by Christian Spuck, as Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Court Master (Leonce and Lena), Kitty (Anna Karenina), in Messa da Requiem and as the Clown (Nutcracker and Mouse King). In 2013 she was honored with the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich and the Outstanding Female Dancer prize at the Swiss Dance Awards.

Mélanie Borel comes from France. She studied at the École Nationale Supérieure de Danse in Marseille and at the École de Danse de l’Opéra de Paris. Engagements have taken her to the Ballet de l’Opéra National de Bordeaux and, from 2005 to 2008, to the Peter Schaufuss Ballet in Denmark. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2008/09 season and has performed as a soloist in choreographies by Twyla Tharp, Heinz Spoerli, and Mats Ek.  She was the Haushofmeister in Spuck’s Leonce und Lena and danced the «Cholerisch» variation in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. In addition, she has appeared in choreographies by Marco Goecke, Douglas Lee, Jiří Kylián, Wayne McGregor, Martin Schläpfer, Hans van Manen, Edward Clug and Crystal Pite.

Eva Dewaele is from Belgium. After completing training at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp, she was engaged by the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Theater Luzern, the Opera Göteborg, the Opéra de Lyon, the Cullberg Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. She has danced in choreographies by William Forsythe, Mats Ek and Jiří Kylián as well as in world premieres by Jacopo Godani, Douglas Lee, David Dawson and Christian Spuck. Eva Dewaele has also appeared in several feature films. With the start of the 2012/13 season she became a member of Ballett Zürich and was also ballet master of the Junior Ballett. She danced Lady Capulet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Rosetta in Leonce und Lena and the Dark Lady in Spuck’s Sonett. As a choreographer, Eva Dewaele created the piece Mit Blick auf for the Hodler retrospective of the Fondation Beyeler and presented the piece Miss(es) as a part of the «Junge Choreografen» series. Her choreography Passing by was created for the Junior Ballett. She has been a ballet master of Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. She staged the production of Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina at the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow, the Korean National Ballet, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett.

Juliette Brunner, who is a native of Switzerland, trained at the Theater Basel Ballet School, at Brenda Hamlyn’s ballet school in Florence, under Malou Fenaroli in Zurich and at the School of American Ballet in New York. After dancing with the Düsseldorf/Duisburg-based Ballett am Rhein, the Leipzig Ballet and the Monte Carlo Ballet, she joined Ballett Zürich for the 2007/08 season. Since then she has been seen in leading roles in numerous productions including Heinz Spoerli’s Peer Gynt, Bella Figura, Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, Orma, Abschied and Don Juan, Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty and William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Most recently she has danced the title role in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, Lady Capulet in his Romeo and Juliet and the governess in his Leonce und Lena, along with choreographies by Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke.

The Bulgarian dancer Galina Mihaylova completed her education at the Bulgarian State Choreographic School and the Swiss Professional Ballet School, where she was a Nureyev Foundation scholarship holder. In the 1999/2000 season she became a member of the Ballett Zürich. She danced here in numerous choreographies by Heinz Spoerli. She has appeared as Effie (La Sylphide), Amor (Don Quixote), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), in Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) and Henriette (Raymonda). She has also performed in ballets by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Uwe Scholz, and Jiří Bubeniček. She danced the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Margret in Woyzeck and Dolly in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck). She has also appeared in choreographies by Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, and George Balanchine.

Irmina Kopaczynska was born in Poland. She studied at the Polish National Ballet School Poznan. She won several prizes in the Polish National Ballet Competition. She also took part in the «Premio Roma» and the «Prix de Lausanne». After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, she became a member of Ballett Zürich starting with the 2011/12 season. She danced the Silver Fairy in Mats Ek’s Dornröschen, Betsy in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, and the Nursemaid in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia. She has also appeared in choreographies by William Forsythe (In the middle, New Sleep), Hans van Manen (Kammerballett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs, Bella Figura), Iacopo Godani, Edward Clug, Marco Goecke (including the Mother in Nijinski), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite.

Giulia Tonelli comes from Italy. She graduated from the Balletto di Toscana and the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera. After her first engagement at the Vienna State Opera, she danced from 2002 to 2010 with the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp and from 2004 as a demi-soloist. There she danced Giselle (Petipa) as well as solo roles in choreographies of Forsythe, Balanchine, Kylián, Haydée and Spuck. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2010/11 season, where she has performed ballets by Spoerli, Goecke, McGregor, Lee, Forsythe, Kylián and Balanchine. She danced Julia in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Lena in Spuck’s Leonce und Lena and Betsy in Anna Karenina. In Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction she danced in the Pas de trois and she also performed in Forsythe’s Quintett and Spuck’s Messa da Requiem. Last season’s highlights include Emergence by Crystal Pite and Gretchen in Edward Clug’s Faust. During the «Junge Choreografen» series she presented the works Mind Games and Klastos together with Mélissa Ligurgo. In 2013 she was awarded the Giuliana Penzi Prize. In 2017 she received the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».