When Dance Meets Haute Couture

There are evenings that arrive softly, and there are evenings that announce themselves with the authority of history. The Ballet Icons Gala 2026 was the latter.

This year marked not only the 20th anniversary of Ballet Icons, but my tenth consecutive year attending this remarkable celebration of classical excellence. A decade is long enough to witness growth, refinement, and the quiet courage required to sustain cultural vision. Over the years, I have collaborated in different capacities—curatorial conversations, creative support, introductions, advocacy. This year, however, I was content to be a mere spectator. An interpreter of beauty. An observer of discipline shaped into art.

The rain fell steadily over London Coliseum, yet inside the theatre, the world felt incandescent.

A Stage of Legends

The programme read like a love letter to ballet’s living canon.

Lucia Lacarra and Matthew Golding with Finding Light, a study in restraint and transcendence. Sarah Chun’s Uhuru pulsed with modern vitality, while Edward Watson’s Asylum reminded us that fragility can be its own form of strength.

Sae Maeda and Marcelino Sambé ignited Wayne McGregor’s Chroma with razor precision. James Pett and Travis C.-Knight offered a lyrical Postscript that felt almost like a private letter read aloud.

After the first interval, the orchestra returned us to classical splendour. Iana Salenko and Daniil Simkin dazzled in Le Corsaire. Maddison Woo and Gabriele Frola brought sculptural elegance to Diana and Acteon. Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov’s Black Swan pas de deux was both seduction and steel. Margarita Fernandes and Antonio Casalinho honoured Tchaikovsky with crystalline technique.

The final act was a crescendo of mastery: Maia Makhateli and Young Gyu Choi in Raymonda, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Reece Clark in the sweeping romanticism of Spring Waters, Eleonora Abbagnato and Paul Marque in the intoxicating intimacy of Le Parc, Nicoletta Mani and Timofej Andriyashenko in The Nutcracker, and finally Marianela Nuñez with Patricio Revé in Don Quixote—a finale that reminded us why virtuosity still brings audiences to their feet.

Many of these dancers I deeply admire. Some I know personally. To watch them is to witness decades of sacrifice distilled into a single, fleeting moment.

The Woman Behind the Vision

At the heart of Ballet Icons stands Olga Balakleets. For twenty years she has poured her soul into this cultural institution. Vision is easy to declare and difficult to sustain. Olga has sustained it—with integrity, with discipline, and with an unwavering belief that ballet deserves reverence.

Anniversaries are not merely milestones. They are proof of endurance.

When Couture Enters the Theatre

Yet this particular evening carried another narrative—one where dance met haute couture.

I was delighted that many of my dear friends secured tickets, and we prepared together, as one does for a night worthy of ritual. We wore haute couture creations by award-winning designer Micaela Oliveira—each garment a study in structure and fantasy.

There was an extraordinary red gown, almost imperial in its silhouette, evoking the celebratory spirit of the Lunar New Year, modelled by Aqui Zhu.

Artist and model Fifi Anicah wore a vibrant, hand-beaded blue lace jumpsuit with a floating skirted back—bold, unapologetic, alive.

Audrone Gedrimaite embodied romantic purity in white lace and tulle. Micaela herself appeared in champagne gold silk adorned with ostrich feathers—effortless authority wrapped in softness.

Make-up was masterfully executed by Alex, hair sculpted by Aba Ahmed, founder of Beauty Kulture. Every detail mattered. The artistry extended beyond the stage; it moved into the foyer, into conversation, into posture.

The evening was captured through the lens of celebrated photographer Kam Murali, whose images reflected the luminous dialogue between movement and couture.

We were accompanied by Elvijs Plugis, Alexei Bez, Ingeborg Margulies and other cherished friends. The rain did not diminish the glamour; if anything, it heightened it. London has always known how to shine through grey skies.

Supper at The Savoy

After the final curtain call, we crossed the city to The Savoy. There is something timeless about The Savoy. Its corridors hold memory; its dining room hums with quiet prestige. Ballet, like couture, demands discipline and devotion. So does excellence in hospitality. The evening concluded not with spectacle, but with conversation—measured, reflective, grateful.

Ten Years On

A decade at Ballet Icons has taught me this: art survives because individuals commit to it. Dancers commit their bodies. Directors commit their lives. Designers commit their imagination. Audiences commit their presence.

When dance meets haute couture, it is not vanity. It is dialogue. Fabric moves as the body moves. Structure mirrors discipline. Beauty becomes a shared language.

Twenty years of Ballet Icons. Ten years of my own journey alongside it. This year I needed no role beyond witness. And sometimes, to witness is enough.

By Rebeca Riofrio