Acclaimed Georgian dancer Maia Makhateli stars in global ballet gala
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World-recognised Georgian dancer Maia Makhateli will feature in a unique seven-hour gala event alongside other international ballet stars on January 31.
Makhateli will perform in the Online Gala of the Stars – Worldwide Ballet Principals event, an initiative by a group of acclaimed dancers of the contemporary classical stage.
The Georgian dancer will team up with more than 20 leading performers from across the world in the charity performance.
Organisers said the entire event, including backstage preparations, rehearsals and interviews of dancers, will be streamed live online for dance enthusiasts all over the world to enjoy.
Yesterday Makhateli announced her participation in the gala to her social network followers:
The gala event was established by a group of "professional and aspiring” ballet performers who have come together in a group named Zarely.
The star cast for the gala will include Berlin State Ballet dancer and Royal Ballet guest artist Iana Salenko, New York City Ballet principal dancer Ana Sophia Scheller and Dutch National Ballet principal Artur Shesterikov.
On stage Makhateli will be partnered by Shesterikov in a piece from In Light and Shadow, a critically acclaimed production from 2000 by Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor.
The full line-up of dancers for the gala was expected to be published on the Zarely Facebook page ahead of the show.
See Maia Makhateli partnered by Artur Shesterikov in the ballet Jewels by famous 20th Century choreographer George Balanchine below:
Makhateli, a principal dancer at the Dutch National Ballet, joined the Zarely collaboration after it launched in early January 2016.
Born in Tbilisi to a family of dancers, Makhateli danced at the Colorado Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet before joining the Netherlands’ largest ballet company in 2007.
In recent years Makhateli won ballet prizes in the United States and the 2011 Star prize, established in Tbilisi by famous Georgian dancer Nina Ananiashvili and Swiss jeweller Gilbert Albert.
She also claimed the 2015 Alexandra Radius Prize in September in the Netherlands for her performances in the previous season.